Dad set on fire outside home days after his taxi windows smashed in

A dad was set on fire outside his home days after the windows of his taxi and house were smashed in a "terrifying campaign of intimidation". Barry Bailey was 42 when he was set on fire outside his family home Chapel Avenue, Walton, in the early hours of November 15, 1994.

Mr Bailey, whose surname was sometimes written as Ballie in early newspaper reports, had just got out of his Austin Montego private hire car after a night's work when he was ambushed by a group of men who poured a flammable liquid over him before setting him alight. The "fireball attack" that left Bailey with 80% burns was the culmination of what people claimed was a campaign of intimidation in the days before his death.

Four people were arrested in connection with the murder - but 30 years on, no one has been charged. Merseyside Police said the force remains committed to "investigating all information which may help find anyone who was responsible for the horrific murder of Barry Bailey". With the 30 year anniversary of his death passing last week, the ECHO has revisited the case in the hope someone with information will come forward to police and justice will be served for his family.

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Police reports at the time noted how "a man filled a cannister of petrol at around 2am from the all-night garage beside the Black Bull pub in Walton". The man then left on foot towards Walton Vale, near where Mr Bailey lived, before neighbours reported seeing the dad on fire.

Neighbour Helen McKenna told the ECHO's former sister paper the Liverpool Daily Post at the time: "I was in bed reading when I heard these high pitched unmerciful screams. I looked out and saw the flames and at first thought the house was on fire, then I heard people shouting for the man to lie down and I realised it was him on fire. The whole thing is just horrible."

Following the attack, the victim was rushed to Aintree Hospital - then known as Fazakerley Hospital - before he was later transferred to the specialist burns unit at Whiston Hospital. He underwent a five-hour operation, with reports at the time indicating his chances were "50/50".

However, Mr Bailey died from his injuries a week after the incident with his wife and two sons, aged 20 and 16 at the time, by his side. Neighbour Ms McKenna also told the Liverpool Daily Post how Mr Bailey's taxi had been targeted the day before the fire attack.

She said: "On Monday (November 14) I believe a car pulled up and someone smashed the windows of his taxi. Someone may have had it in for him and his family and this could be part of a vendetta." The vendetta claims led newspapers including the ECHO, the Liverpool Daily Post and the Anfield and Walton Star to run headlines of a possible campaign of intimidation against the family man.

Police probed reports of damage to both the taxi and Mr Bailey's home, while phantom phone calls to his landline were also probed. The police also looked into the possibility that the incident occurred because of where he worked, with a spokesman saying: "There have been incidents in the past in Merseyside where taxi drivers have fallen out with rival firms."

However, Detective Chief Inspector Russ Walsh, who was the lead officer on the case, said the recent incidents on his house and car were just one of a number of lines of enquiry, branding the horrific attack as "motiveless".

He added: "This is a horrific and barbaric attack on a family man. It seems as he made his way into the house from his car he was doused with some substance and set alight by a person or persons unknown. We are obviously treating this apparently motiveless attack as a criminal matter and would appeal for any witnesses to contact us."

In the following days, Northway taxis - the firm where Mr Bailey worked - offered a £10,000 reward for information that could help find those responsible. Meanwhile investigating police officers re-appealed for information about the man carrying the cannister of petrol, as well as asking the owner of a light coloured Ford Orion parked in a road near Mr Bailey's home to come forward.

Merseyside Police said it was outside the Windsor pub and may have been a private hire vehicle. The day after Mr Bailey's death, four men - including three brothers - were arrested in connection with the fire attack following a series of coordinated dawn raids.

The four suspects were questioned by detectives investigating the brutal killing. Reports in local media later said a number of men were due to appear in court charged in connection with the firebomb attack, but it appears the case did not proceed any further.

DCI Walsh later said: "It is hard to contemplate one human being coldly and calculatingly pouring petrol over another and then setting fire to it." But despite the brutality of the attack - and repeatedly appeals from the police, no one has ever been convicted of Mr Bailey's murder.

A spokesperson from Merseyside Police's serious crime review unit said: "A number of years may have passed but if you still have any information and not yet spoken to police please contact Merseyside Police."