Arsonist who caused damage estimated at £10k jailed

A man who committed a string of arson attacks during a single night has been jailed for three years and eight months.

Anthony Reed-Metcalfe, 32, of Eastern Avenue, was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court this week.

He had previously admitted to starting three separate fires at properties across Gloucester in the early hours of 29 September, as well as one count of burglary.

The estimated property damage would cost more than £10,000 to repair.

The court heard police were called to a building on fire in Southgate Street shortly after 01:00 BST.

Another fire was also spotted at a property two doors down and a number of residents had to be evacuated from their homes for their safety.

Both the buildings were disused shops with residential properties above them.

A short time later, a number of calls were made to police to report large bin fires at different spots around the city.

At about 03:00 BST, CCTV operators captured a man matching the suspect's description and alerted police officers patrolling the city centre.

Officers responded to the car park of Gloucester railway station, where they heard the sound of breaking glass.

The windows of the nearby Station Hotel had blown out from the force of a fire that had been started inside.

Reed-Metcalfe was seen emerging from the building and was arrested at the scene on suspicion of arson.

The court was told that although Reed-Metcalfe had no previous convictions for arson, he had 22 previous convictions for 70 other offences and had been the subject of a community order at the time he committed the arson attacks.

Sentencing Reed-Metcalfe, Judge Ian Lawrie KC told him that he would have liked to have found other ways of helping him rehabilitate further.

He said: "You have some very complex difficulties and, ordinarily, I would want to find an alternative to custody, as I am not convinced that addresses your many problems.

"However, the gravity of your offending gives me no alternative but to impose a custodial term.

"What is clear and is not in question is that, through a combination of drink and drugs, you were not, as people may say, playing with a full deck.

"While that gives an understanding of what you have done, it exposes the dangers your actions posed to others."

Reed-Metcalfe will be eligible for release on licence after serving 17 months.

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