Halifax: Man jailed for life over devastating primary school fire

Aaron Foster started the fire which caused £4.5m damage to the primary school

An arsonist who started a devastating fire at a Halifax primary school which "ripped the heart out of the community" has been given a life sentence.

Aaron Foster broke into Ash Green school in Mixenden in February before setting it alight and causing £4.5m damage, Bradford Crown Court heard.

It came 18 months after he set fire to Mixenden library causing £180,000 damage.

Foster, 20, who denied the charge, was told he must serve at least nine years.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, headteacher Mungo Sheppard described how "one mindless act of arson" had ripped the heart out of an entire community.

The fire at Ash Green Primary School destroyed several classrooms

The court was told CCTV showed Foster walking around the school carrying a lit cigarette

He said in the aftermath of the blaze, hardworking staff had been devastated by what happened and children, who had lost all their work, felt "heartbroken and confused".

Mr Sheppard said the additional work following the fire had been "exhausting" and staff had experienced insomnia and nightmares.

After taking account of a psychologist's report and Foster's ADHD diagnosis, Recorder Simon Myerson KC concluded he posed a significant risk of serious harm to the public and a discretionary life sentence was therefore appropriate.

The school's headteacher said staff and pupils were devastated that their work was destroyed

Jurors heard from a witness that Foster was seen laughing about what he had accomplished

During the trial, the court heard how Foster, of Stanningley Road, Mixenden, phoned 999 claiming his friends had started the fire and had left him surrounded by flames.

However, prosecutors told jurors that he was "pretending to be trapped".

The jury was shown CCTV footage of Foster breaking into the school which captured him walking with the torch function on his mobile phone and carrying a lit cigarette.

A subsequent fire investigation suggested that there had been three or four seats of fire.

Recorder Myerson said Foster had a supportive and loving family and he took the view he had not been motivated out of "simple wickedness".

But he said the arson attacks had had absolutely catastrophic consequences for the community.

He said: "The cost to those children of having their own work destroyed, their environment literally gutted and their peace of mind disturbed by the thought that somebody had come into their building and burned it down, really because it seemed like a good idea at the time, is just incalculable."

The court was told Foster had previous convictions dating back to when he was 17 and he had previously been expelled from a pupil referral unit.

Foster also started a previous fire at Mixenden library which was used as a community hub

Det Con Louise Halliwell of West Yorkshire Police said Foster's actions "had a huge impact on those in the community."

Dave Walton, Deputy Chief Fire Officer at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "He could have died and our crews' lives were also put in danger rescuing him from a fire started by his own hand.

"And to then ring up our control staff and blaming others is beyond belief.

"I hope this sentence deters others from this sort of activity."