A man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after deliberately setting fire to a car parked on a driveway in Staining, near Blackpool.
Peter Vernal, 41, was found guilty of torching the vehicle belonging to a man in his late 80s in a case of mistaken identity.
The attack occurred at around 10.30pm on July 21 last year on Summerville Avenue. The elderly car owner was awakened by the sudden glow of flames illuminating his bedroom.
Looking outside, he saw his Dacia Sandero smouldering just a metre from his front door.
Emergency crews from Lancashire Fire and Rescue quickly responded, extinguishing the flames and preventing further damage to the property.
Investigators discovered an improvised Molotov cocktail left at the scene.
Blackpool CID launched an investigation and traced Vernal’s movements. CCTV footage showed him purchasing petrol and a container near the M55 junction shortly before the fire.
His vehicle was recorded leaving the garage at 10.22pm and was later spotted near the crime scene at 10.33pm.
Vernal was arrested in Fleetwood the day after the incident.
At Preston Crown Court in January, a jury found him guilty of arson, reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
On April 15, Judge Ian Unsworth KC sentenced Vernal to 14 years in total, comprising nine years in prison and five years on licence.
While the flames have been extinguished, the impact of the attack remains a lasting scar on the community.
Originally published by UKNIP.
