Hartlepool arsonist who set fire to own flat and rang Cleveland Fire Brigade classed as dangerous offender

Tenant Joshua Benn risked causing serious harm to himself and other people in the block of flats in Glamis Walk, Hartlepool, when he set fire to toilet paper inside his front door.

He left the address but then called the fire brigade claiming he was trapped inside.

Firefighters quickly attended but he was caught out when it was noted the patterned toilet paper from the fire matched that in his bathroom, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Thirty-year-old Benn was jailed for two and half years on Monday as part of an extended sentence after being branded a dangerous offender.

He did something similar in 2021 when he set fire to his living room and again called the fire brigade.

The court heard he was intoxicated when he started the latest fire at around midnight last November.

Jolyon Perks, prosecuting, said: “The defendant remained at the scene. He told the fire service ‘I have previous for setting fire to my living room but I’ve changed now’.

"Of course he hadn’t.”

Sooty deposits were discovered in Benn’s bathroom and on other toilet rolls he had handled.

"The clear inference being he had started the fire himself,” said Mr Perks.

Benn was arrested and found in possession of a lighter.

The fire was in a block of four flats. While some were unoccupied and the damage was confined to the carpet and broken door, Mr Perks said “any serious fire at the address would have placed adjoining tenants in danger or a serious incident”.

Benn pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to arson being reckless whether life would be endangered.

Martin Scarborough, mitigating for Benn, said the cost of the damage – £666 – was low and nobody was harmed.

He added Benn had some mental health issues and this will be his first prison sentence.

Sentencing, Judge Howard Crowson said: “The risk of physical harm was significant. The time and pressures on the fire service are significant.

"They are not always able to attend as quickly as they would wish. This is not the first time you have committed an offence like this.”

Ben will be on licence for two years after he is released.