Man jailed for starting fire in tower block basement

Andrew Dmytruk set fire to a car and a van in a basement car park with hundreds of flats above

An arsonist has been jailed for starting a fire in a car park below a 15-storey block of flats as residents slept above.

Andrew Dmytruk, 63, set fire to vehicles in the basement car park of the Litmus Building in Nottingham city centre in the early hours of 29 April.

Residents had to be evacuated from the complex, which has almost 300 flats and more than 600 residents, police said.

At Nottingham Crown Court, Dmytruk was sentenced to four-and-a-half years after admitting arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered at an earlier hearing.

More than 50 firefighters attended the blaze, the fire service said

The court heard Dmytruk had six convictions for 17 offences, including one of arson, in Spain, in 2012, for which he received a prison sentence of four years and four months.

He started the Nottingham fire below the Huntingdon Street flats at about 03:25 BST, leading to fire crews partially evacuating the building.

A car and a van in a three-level car park, with the 15 storeys above, were deliberately ignited by a naked flame using accelerant.

Judge Nirmal Shant KC said: “Two of the vehicles were completely damaged by the fire, and were parked near a concrete supporting wall."

She said a third vehicle was heat damaged, and 50 vehicles were covered in soot and debris.

CCTV footage revealed Dmytruk had caught a taxi to Clinton Street West before walking to the Litmus Building, police said

The judge added: “The consequences don’t bear thinking about."

“Had it progressed beyond where it did, it would have caused danger to those living above."

The court heard £70,000 worth of damage was caused.

“People had to vacate their home, and a high level of damage was caused," the judge added.

She added: “The psychiatric report talks about your learning difficulties.

"The learning difficulties have not been the cause of you starting the fire, but I have taken that into account given the sentence will be harder given your difficulties.

“It was to be laid at the door of your alcohol use, and that is what caused you to behave in this way."

At an earlier hearing, Dmytruk, of Hodgkinson Street, in Netherfield, had claimed he did not recall setting the fire.

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service previously said more than 50 firefighters were deployed to deal with the blaze.