Hartlepool teenager Ethan Chapman appears in court over arson attack when 12 vehicles were destroyed
A teenager who took part in a revenge attack in which 12 vehicles were torched will be sentenced later this month.
Ethan Chapman, 18, was part of a masked gang which carried out a large scale fire at a yard on Hartlepool’s Longhill Industrial Estate on April 6.
Teesside Crown Court heard it was part of a “revenge attack” by an organised crime gang.
Chapman was due to be sentenced by the court on Friday, July 17, after previously pleading guilty to arson and possession of a bladed article in a private place.
But the prosecution asked for more time to consider Chapman’s basis of plea in which he disputes leading and directing others during the attack, which was also filmed by one of the gang.
Stephen Constantine, representing Chapman, described him as “a foot soldier”.
Due to the difference it could make to the sentence, Recorder Mark Giuliani adjourned the case until Thursday, July 30.
Chapman, of Shelly Grove, Hartlepool, was remanded in custody.