Arson trio torch estate agent’s office in daring early-morning attack!
Firebug thugs caught on CCTV
Bedfordshire Police launched a probe after three men sparked multiple fires at an estate agent’s building in the dead of night on 14 August 2022. Glen Ratcliffe, 36, Darren Smith, 42, and Paul Mitchell, 52, set ablaze entrances at the front and rear of the property with shocking ease.
Grainy CCTV footage shows Ratcliffe and Smith smashing through the front window, placing an object on the floor moments before flames erupted inside. Meanwhile, Mitchell was filmed buying petrol in a jerry can from a nearby petrol station – a nearly identical can found at the scene sealed their fate.
Close call for residents
Four lucky occupants living in the flat above the estate agents scrambled to safety after spotting the fire. Although a woman was rushed to hospital, she was discharged without serious injuries.
Justice served at the Old Bailey
The trio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life, facing the judge at the Old Bailey on Wednesday 18 October. Ratcliffe of Crescent Road and Smith from St Loyes Street, Bedford, were both jailed for four years.
Mitchell, residing on Library Road, Luton, was convicted at Luton Crown Court earlier this year in February and received a heftier five-year prison sentence.
