Two men have been jailed after deliberately setting fire to the home of a 78-year-old woman while she was inside.
Callum Walters, 32, and Samuel Moffett, 37, were convicted following an arson attack on a property in Oxford Street, Sheffield, on the evening of 26 November 2024.
The elderly occupant was rescued following the blaze and taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. Her home was severely damaged.
Petrol used to set house alight
An investigation by South Yorkshire Police established that Walters had organised the attack, while Moffett carried it out.
The pair parked around half a mile from the intended target and used the internet to confirm the location of the address.
Walters remained inside the vehicle while Moffett went to the house and set it alight using petrol.
CCTV captured Moffett starting the fire, while examination of the men’s phone records provided further evidence linking Walters to the attack.
Police and firefighters from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene.
Jury convicts both men
Moffett, of Norfolk Park Road, was arrested on 29 November 2024.
Walters, of Framlingham Road, was arrested five days later in connection with a separate drugs supply investigation. Both men were subsequently charged over the arson attack.
They denied the offences but were convicted by a jury following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court on 17 June 2026.
Moffett was found guilty of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, while Walters was convicted of the more serious offence of arson with intent to endanger life.
20 years in prison between them
At Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday 10 September, Walters was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with an additional three-year extended licence period.
Moffett was jailed for eight years, also with a three-year extended licence period.
The sentences mean the pair received a combined 20 years’ immediate imprisonment for the attack.
