Teen Gets Four Years In Jail After Riot Blaze

A teenager who set fire to a south London pub during the August riots that swept across England has been sentenced to four years in prison.

The blaze started by the 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, left the Great Harry pub in Woolwich in ruins and caused £3.5m worth of damage.

Police said it was "pure luck" that nobody died.

The teenager had pleaded guilty to arson, being reckless as to whether life is endangered, during a hearing at Inner London Crown Court in September.

The teenager was arrested on August 22 after handing himself in, and charged the following day when officers confronted him with CCTV images of his actions.

The footage showed him breaking a piece of wood from a pallet and turning it into a torch using a fire already started nearby.

He can then be seen walking into the Great Harry pub and walking out without it. The pub was then engulfed in flames.

The teenager, from Abbey Wood, east of Woolwich, also admitted violent disorder and burglary of a shop in Woolwich, but denied arson with intent to endanger life.

Sgt Mark Gilchrist said: "The damage left the local community in Woolwich filled with dismay by the level of vandalism and disorder that took place that night.

"It is needless to say that the teenager's action could have cost someone's life."

More to follow...