Man who had been 'angry for three weeks straight' tried to set woman's house on fire

Jamie Austin was jailed for three years -Credit:Humberside Police
Jamie Austin was jailed for three years -Credit:Humberside Police


An arsonist tried to set fire to a woman's house in a nasty revenge attack out of pure "malice" but he was lucky not to be facing a murder charge for his "shocking" and "horrendous" actions.

Jamie Austin had been "angry for three weeks straight" before he smashed a window and poured a jerry can of petrol into a house. He had, three weeks earlier, warned the woman in a telephone call that he would enjoy "murdering" her and her sons, Hull Crown Court heard.

Austin, 38, of Lindsey Place, off Anlaby Road, west Hull, admitted arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered, on November 16. Amber Hobson, prosecuting, said that Austin had been in a relationship with a woman for about 15 years but they separated about seven years ago. They had a daughter together.

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He started to contact his ex-girlfriend's mother and he seemed to blame her for what he saw as lack of contact with his daughter. He telephoned the mother at 1.10pm on October 26 and told her: "I am going to enjoy murdering you and your ***** sons." The mother recognised Austin's voice. He told her: "The police won't do anything."

On November 16, the ex-girlfriend's brother was in the kitchen at a house in Bransholme when he heard a crashing noise in the area of the front door. He went to investigate and saw a man with a petrol can trying to smash the rest of the glass in a window to make an existing hole bigger.

He saw Austin start pouring something from the can into the porch area. He was pouring liquid from the can through the broken window and he then used a lighter to ignite the liquid.

"He made off," said Miss Hobson. The brother chased him and, when he saw Austin further up the street, the brother shouted something. "The defendant shouted something back, which he did not catch," said Miss Hobson.

"He continued to run. He was holding something in his hand." The brother returned to the house and he found that there was a fire. He put that out with one hand while he was on the telephone to the fire brigade.

He was barefoot and cut his foot on glass, which was on the floor. The police and fire brigade arrived and it was discovered that bags of straw had been thrown through the window. There was some blackening but "next to no damage".

The mother of Austin's ex-girlfriend later said: "I never thought that anything like this would happen to me in my life. I never thought that Jamie would ring me up and threaten to kill me and follow this through.

"I can't believe that a person could be capable of such malice. I feel a sense of shock. I worry that if Jamie gets out, he will follow this through. What Jamie has done to my family is horrendous. For him to do this in broad daylight is shocking.

"The harassment feels like it has been going on for ever with him. I never did anything to him. I can't understand why he thinks I have ruined his life. I am not sure if, or when, he will come back."

Michael Masson, mitigating, said it was a serious matter and it happened in the context of a significantly deteriorating relationship and a lack of contact between Austin and his daughter. He had no previous convictions.

"He found himself frustrated and describes himself as being angry for three weeks straight," said Mr Masson. "He is a low risk of committing further offences. This was a reckless attempt to make himself heard and, as misguided, foolish and dangerous as it was, it was just that.

"It was an attempt to make his presence known, given that he thought that he was simply being ignored. He regrets having taken those steps.

"He recognises that things could have been much, much worse. Once you have set a blaze, there was a risk. It's an amateur offence. It hasn't resulted in significant harm to anybody."

Judge Mark Bury said: "He could easily have been facing a murder trial – easily. These two people, particularly, have been frightened out of their wits. He turned up unannounced with a jerry can, broke a window and poured petrol through.

"He is immensely lucky that we are looking at very little damage." Three weeks earlier, Austin had said that he would take pleasure in murdering the mother.

Austin, who was already in custody, was jailed for three years and he was given a four-year restraining order.