Man who set fire to grieving partner's Islay home jailed

A man who attempted to murder his grieving partner by setting fire to her home on Islay has been jailed.

The blaze, set by Dean MacTaggart, forced Amanda Richards, 43, and a child to leap from a first floor window in September 2021.

The 31-year-old punched Ms Richards in the face after she felt he was insensitive about her late mother.

He was sentenced to five years and eight months at the High Court in Glasgow.

MacTaggart had earlier pled guilty to attempted murder.

He will be supervised for a further three years on his release and has been banned from approaching or contacting Ms Richards.

Sentencing him, Lord Beckett said he had destroyed the home in the Inner Hebrides, as well as a neighbouring office.

He said: "This was an extremely serious crime. The consequences could have been worse, but for your partner's presence of mind, instinct and bravery.

"It took firefighters eight hours to bring the fire under control."

Barricaded in a bedroom

The couple had been living together in the flat in the grounds of the Dunlossit Estate - a working estate in the north of the island - and had an argument on the night of the blaze.

Prosecutor David Dickson said MacTaggart had started using a "catchphrase" which he had seen on a TV show.

It referred to someone's mother and MacTaggart found it amusing, the court heard.

He had repeated it to Ms Richards, sparking the argument.

Mr Dickson: "As her mother was dead and the date of the offence would have been her 60th birthday, she felt MacTaggart had been insensitive towards her.

"On challenging him, he appeared to take offence."

The couple ended up in the bedroom where MacTaggart punched Ms Richards in the face.

She then spotted he had a knife before he left the room.

Mr Dickson said Ms Richards barricaded herself in the room with the child.

Bedding and clothes to break the fall

The court heard she told police she saw a light coming through the door and knew the flat was on fire, so began working out how to escape.

Ms Richards threw clothes and bedding onto the ground to attempt to break a fall.

She then made the four-metre leap followed by the child and ran to a neighbour for help.

Mr Dickson said MacTaggart was heard to say "sorry" as he put his head in his hands.

He later told police he had lit firelighters which he put under a cushion at the bedroom door.

He added he had been drinking beer and a half bottle of whisky that night.

David Taylor, defending, said: "There has never been a point where he had sought to deny his responsibility.

"He gave a full and frank account of what happened."