Mystery as 'dangerous' dog walking arsonist set fire to 12 cars but refuses to say why

An arsonist who set fire to 12 cars over three separate nights has been sentenced.

But David Jenkins wouldn't say why he set the vehicles ablaze - even as he was jailed. The 32-year-old's barrister Paul Green said that Jenkins may have suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, but it was not clear how that could have resulted in serial arson.

On Monday, Judge Jonathan Carroll told Jenkins: "To this day, there has been no real explanation. This has had a profound and long lasting affect on a variety of people."

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Jenkins set fire to the car number plates, and walked off with his dog as the vehicles blazed across different different Hartlepool streets, in February and August 2023. Paul Abrahams, prosecuting, told the court that when police released an image of Jenkins, taken from CCTV footage of him leaving a fire, he called them to say it was him - but that he had only been out walking his dog.

After a second night of fires, weeks later on February 28, last year, the police again issued an appeal using an image of Jenkins from the CCTV footage. This time, Jenkins's brother came forward, to say that it was his brother in the photo, and that when they had fallen out in the past, he had threatened to burn his car.

Jenkins destroyed 12 cars in total. CCTV captured him bent over the number plate of one car on February 9, before walking away from Easington Road, as the vehicle went up in flames.

Around midnight on February 9, last year, he set fire to:

• A Skoda worth £1,700, parked outside the owner's home on Easington Road and a Mitsubishi worth £5,500 on Buckleberry Close

On February 28, last year, Jenkins was out dog walking again, when he set fire to:

• A £4,000 Ford Fiesta and a Vauxhall Astra, worth £2,000, both parked on Avondale Gardens

Jenkins was arrested on March 9, and he denied any involvement. He was granted bail but in the early hours of August 18, 2023, he set fire to eight cars. They were:

- A VW Passat, worth £4,500, parked on Briardene Mews. The owner woke up "in shock" as she saw firefighters surrounding her car outside

• A £2,200 Vauxhall Corsa on Caledonian Road

• A Citreon Berlingo, worth £7,500, on Shrewsbury Street

• A Range Rover, worth £2,500, on Brinkburn Road

• An £800 Kia Nero on Baden Street

• A Vauxhall Zafira, worth £1,700, parked on Lansdowne Road

• A Vauxhall van and a Volvo which was on lease through the Motability scheme, both parked on Osbourne Road

Jenkins, of Lime Crescent in Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of arson.

Mr Green said that his client had been drinking on all three nights. Judge Carroll told Jenkins that he had "engaged in a campaign of fire starting, targeting cars. The cars were of mixed values.

"But the true value of a car is not in pounds and pence, but in the importance it has to the people using it - they are dependent on it. From you, there has been no rational or coherent explanation.

"It is clear that - particularly when you set eight vehicles on fire - it had a profound impact on the emergency services that night. They were then not available for any other emergencies that may have arisen."

The judge classified Jenkins as a "dangerous offender" because he poses a high risk of committing other offences and causing serious harm. Jenkins did not react, as he was handed an extended prison term of seven-years. He will serve five-year in prison and the remaining two-years on licence, in the community.

After the sentencing, Detective Constable Simon Lowther, of Hartlepool CID, said: “This spate of arson was dangerous and destructive, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage and fear in the community. Jenkins endangered the lives of those living in these areas, with the risk of the fires spreading to houses nearby.”

Superintendent Martin Hopps said: “I’d like to place on record my thanks to the officers involved in this case. Their skill and determination ensured Jenkins faced punishment for his actions. His sentence today will hopefully offer some justice to the victims of these crimes. I would like to thank the community for their patience and support during this investigation, I know the effect of these crimes were felt throughout the community and I hope this goes some way to reassure them.”

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