Arsonist who left Blackpool woman in constant fear after randomly targeting her home jailed

The victim, whose young daughter was also upstairs when convicted sex offender David Scholes set a rubbish bin alight in an alley next to their home, said she had visions of being stuck at the top of the stairs unable to get out.

The testimony came as Scholes, 33, of Hornby Road, Blackpool was sent to prison for two-and-a-half years by a judge at Preston Crown Court for two counts of arson and two breaches of failing to report to police he had changed his home address – a condition of being on the sex offenders’ list for an offence of rape in 2015.

The court heard Scholes had set fire to the front wheel of a caravan parked next to a house late at night and then, three weeks later, started the blaze in the alley involving a wheelie bin and a child’s trampoline.

He admitted the first arson charge, but denied the second, only to change his plea on the first day of a trial by magistrates.

He was sent to Crown Court for sentence on all three counts.

Harriet Lavin, prosecuting, told Judge Darren Preston that the first arson attack was at 1:50 am on New Year’s Day involving an uninhabited caravan parked on the driveway of a house in Blackpool.

Fortunately the fire did not take hold and damage was minimal.

“But more worrying to the victim was the fact that gas canisters were situated near to where the fire was lit and also near to the house,” she said.

DNA found at the scene was matched to Scholes and he was arrested.

The second arson came 21 days later and resulted in the fire brigade being called out to an alley between two houses.

Scholes was seen on CCTV to enter the alleyway multiple times before a fire was eventually started. He was still at the scene when the firefighters arrived.

Miss Lavin said the woman in the house had been “terrified.” She had a child and the two of them were choking on the smoke.

“She had visions of being stuck at the top of the stairs and not able to get out,” she said. “She feared she would die in a fire.”

The incident had also had an impact on the child, said Miss Lavin, who wouldn’t sleep in her own bed after it happened.

"She was scared of him returning,” she said.

Neil Ronan, defending Scholes, said his client had mental health issues and a “destructive relationship with alcohol.”

“It would seem that his behaviour in drink is a concern. But the last 13 months sober (in custody) have made a palpable difference to his attitude to drink and he doesn’t want to spend the next 10 years in and out of prison because of drink.

“He has to put his life in order. It's a wake up call in his life. He needs to be helped and he accepts he needs to be helped. But the last year of sobriety gives him a head start.”

The court was told that Scholes was found to be living with a woman in Central Drive, Blackpool, an address he had not told police about when he moved in – a strict condition of being on the sex offenders’ list.

He had been living with her for between six weeks and two months. It was claimed the woman was unaware of the fact he was a registered sex offender.

Judge Darren Preston told Scholes: “You claim to express shame and disgust at what you did. I have to consider whether you are a dangerous offender. But I tend to agree with Mr Ronan that you are more pathetic than dangerous.

“You are quite a sad, detached, lonely individual. But that said these offences are serious.”

He jailed Scholes for 12 months on each of the breaches of the sex offenders’ order to run concurrently.

For the first arson he was given a two-month sentence to run consecutive and for the second a 16-month sentence also to run concurrently, making a total of 30 months in jail.

But because of the 13 months he has already served on remand, he could be released within weeks.