A man set a woman's house on fire while her children were inside after an argument.
Andrew Potter, 39, of Thelwall New Road, Warrington, had a "verbal disagreement" with a woman on Tuesday, September 13. The next morning at 6am, he arrived outside her home in Latchford, when he used two jerry cans full of petrol to set her backdoor on fire.
The woman, along with her sister and four young children were in the house at the time, and ran upstairs once they saw the back door was ablaze. Aiming a shower hose out the bathroom window, they were able to extinguish the fire and call the police.
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CCTV enquiries identified Potter, and he was arrested and subsequently charged with arson with intent to endanger life. He appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, November 28 after pleading guilty, and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Neil Mooney, of Warrington Local Policing Unit, said: “The repercussions of what may have happened in this case are quite simply unthinkable. Potter was well aware that the victim and her young children were inside the house, and he put their lives at risk.
“Thankfully, he was unsuccessful in his attempt to set fire to the property, and no-one sustained any injuries. I would like to thank the courts for putting Potter behind bars, facing the consequences of his actions."
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