Newcastle killer jailed for setting own home alight

Wayne Sinclair, 50, admitted reckless arson

A convicted killer who fulfilled neighbours' fears that he would start a fire has been jailed for more than three years.

Residents of Wayne Sinclair's street in Walker, Newcastle, installed fireproof letterboxes and security cameras amid concerns he would set homes alight, the city's crown court heard.

They were proved right on 16 November when he drunkenly ignited his sofa.

Sinclair, who was jailed in 1997 for manslaughter, admitted reckless arson.

'Densely populated street'

Judge Moreland said the 50-year-old posed a "significant risk of causing serious harm" to the public.

She said his neighbours in Sandy Crescent had expressed fears he would start a fire, with some calling out the fire service to check and install smoke alarms in anticipation of his actions.

He lived in an end terrace house in the "densely populated" street directly next door to his disabled sister, and multiple neighbours said the way he was behaving made them fear he would "cause a fire or an explosion", the judge said.

On 16 November he was seen playing with a lighter in his living room window, and later that night a neighbour saw his house was on fire and raised the alarm.

The judge said Sinclair was "clearly very drunk" and was passed out in the property when firefighters arrived and rescued him.

Investigations revealed the fire had been started by an ignited object falling or being pushed between the arm and cushion of a sofa.

Previous convictions

Sinclair told firefighters he had fallen asleep while smoking a cigarette.

"You were reckless as to whether the lives of others were endangered," the judge told him.

She added: "There was at the very least a significant risk of serious physical or psychological harm to others and risk of significant damage being caused."

The court heard Sinclair had a long history of previous convictions including for manslaughter, for which he was jailed for five years in 1997 when aged 23.

Sinclair was jailed for three years and nine months with an extended licence of two years and three months.

Prosecutors asked for £13,500 in compensation but the order could not be made due to Sinclair's position.