Arsonist jailed after '˜near fatal' attack

A Scarborough man who started a blaze in a block of flats while on bail for setting fire to a pub has been jailed for eight years.
Nathan ElleryNathan Ellery
Nathan Ellery

Nathan Ellery, 24, poured glue over a staircase and curtains at an apartment block in North Marine Road, Scarborough, then set them alight while tenants were sleeping, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor James Gelsthorpe said there were six separate seats of fire. Tenants rushed out of their rooms and firefighters were called out.

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Ellery was arrested and charged with arson and being reckless as to whether lives would be endangered.

The defendant, who has a booze problem and “anger issues”, was on bail at the time for a previous arson incident at the Ivanhoe pub where he set fire to a store cupboard in a second-floor bathroom.

He appeared at Crown Court last Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of arson/being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, plus one count of burglary.

Mr Gelsthorpe said one of the tenants at Ellery’s bail address was asleep in the early hours of the morning when the defendant struck.

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He was awoken by the smoke alarm at 2am and found the first-floor landing and stairs on fire.

The tenant, whose only means of escape was the flaming staircase, put the fire out using a bowl of water as he shouted for other tenants to get up. Police and firefighters arrived and Ellery was arrested. The repair bill came to £900, but no-one was harmed.

Judge Paul Batty QC described Ellery’s crimes as “wicked” and said the blaze at the bail address could have been fatal. Ellery was jailed for eight years.

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