Man jailed for £3.5m Codicote thatched roof arson

The fire was started in a car parked next to the building

A man has been jailed for starting a blaze which caused £3.5m of damage to the thatched roof of a listed building.

Fire took hold in the Grade II house in Node Court, Codicote, Hertfordshire, the early hours of 12 July 2015.

Police said the blaze, which "ravaged" the roof, had been "the largest of its kind in the UK".

Joshua Bozier, 24, of Dalton Way, Whitwell, admitted arson and was jailed for three years and four months at Cambridge Crown Court.

Much of the detached listed building was gutted by the blaze

Bozier had smashed the window of a car parked next to the building and set it alight, Hertfordshire Police said.

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It spread to the thatched roof, totally destroying it and causing extensive damage to the building itself.

Joshua Bozier admitted setting the fire that caused the damage to the building, and was jailed on Friday

About £3.5m of damage was caused to the building

Investigators described Bozier's actions as "mindless, fruitless and reckless".

The blaze in the building, which housed a number of businesses, was "thought to be one of the most costly arsons the country has known", Det Con David Quinn said.