Serial Hartlepool arsonist facing life sentence after latest blaze

The case was heard at Teesside Crown Court

In the last 25 years Stefan Geary, 49, has set fire to a church, two schools, a bus station in Blackpool, parked cars and on September 29 he caused a fire at a derelict former probation office in South Bank.

He handed himself in to firefighters sent to tackle the blaze at 2.50am at the scene in Middlesbrough Road, South Bank, saying that he had gone to the police station to hand himself in but it was closed.

Prosecutor Sam Faulks told a hearing at Teesside Crown Court that the building next to St Peter’s Church had been used by homeless people and drug addicts.

Mr Faulks said that the owner assessed the damage at more than £5,000.

He said that Geary told a fire officer that he had just finished a jail sentence for arson, adding “I should not have done it.”

Mr Faulks said the defendant had not intended the blaze to become widespread.

“He said that he started the fire to keep warm and it got out of hand,” said Mr Faulks.

Geary served a three-year jail sentence for the Blackpool bus station fire in 1995 when he set fire to two cars by lighting paper on the back seats. He also set fire to a BMW car in a locked car park.

In 2003 he set fire to a church in Newcastle, starting several fires on the altar, and he also started fires in two schools in Jarrow.

Paul Green, defending, said that a psychiatric report described Geary as a risk of further offending.

Judge Jonathan Carroll said that he qualified for a life sentence.

But Geary must wait to learn his fate.

The judge told him he needed a report prepared before he decided on a sentence.

“I need a pre-sentence report which assesses the risk of serious harm,” the judge told him.

“You face a mandatory life sentence to prevent a serious risk to the public.”

Geary, of Furness Street, Hartlepool, who appeared over a videolink from Durham Prison, was remanded in custody until April for sentence after he pleaded guilty to arson.

Support your Mail and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest on Pools and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.