Furious wife paid man £150 to petrol bomb mother-in-law in revenge plot

A hard-up man was paid just £150 by a furious wife to petrol-bomb her mother-in-law for saying she "wasn't good enough" to marry her son.

Luke Williams, 25, was jailed after being caught in the mother-in-law revenge plot after taking the cash to "blow up" a car. Mother-in-law Christine Place, 54, found her car ablaze after it was petrol-bombed outside her home in the late-night attack.

A court heard Williams and daughter-in-law Alisha Anwar, 29, conspired to commit arson to with the petrol bomb. A court heard Christina made it clear that she did not like Anwar and that she "wasn't good enough" for her son - leading to more issues between the pair.

Prosecutor Oliver King Anwar held a "grudge" against Christina for a number of reasons including that she "was not good enough for her son." During a car journey in June 2022, Anwar asked Luke Williams if he'd "blow up" a car for money.

Christina was in the living room of her Wrexham home when she noticed an orange glow beyond her garden fence. Her car was ablaze and by the time two fire crews had brought it under control some 90 minutes later, a total of three vehicles had been either destroyed or seriously damaged.

A glass bottle containing petrol was found beneath her car. Police were informed of the plot afterwards by Williams form partner who had heard them talking in the car.

CCTV enquiries confirmed Williams had gone to a Tesco petrol station and filled a container with petrol in the days leading up to the offence. When he was arrested, analysis of his phone showed he'd been searching for "arson punishment UK."

His financial records were checked, and he'd received a £150 transfer from Anwar days before. Myles Wilson, defending Williams, said: "He was brought up in a family of Jehovah's Witnesses and was bullied at school."

Mr Wilson said the defendant went on to live in a tent and developed suicidal thoughts before beginning to get his life "back together again." He added: "He was known as someone who was desperate for money. He stupidly agreed to involve himself in this, and not for a large amount of money it has to be said."

Judge Niclas Parry said: "Ms Anwar orchestrated all of this. She was determined to seek vengeance on her mother-in-law and unbelievably, you took an offer to blow up or petrol bomb her car for £150. The victim just felt she was being attacked in the middle of the night by a stranger - it would have been terrifying."

Williams, of Wrexham, was jailed for a total of two years after admitting the arson and breach of a suspended sentence at Mold Crown Court. Anwar previously admitted to conspiring to commit arson at Mold Crown Court. Anwar, of Pentre Maelor, Wrexham, was jailed for 16 months custodial sentence and a given a two-year restraining order to protect her mother in law.

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