A businessman who set fire to a nearby business' trailer in a "revenge attack" following a parking row has been jailed.
Thomas Hastie, 31, was sentenced to 32 months' imprisonment at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday (March 14) after pleading guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
After becoming irritated with Gaskells Waste parking near his premises, Hastie set fire to the trailer, which was parked just metres away from another facility containing gas canisters, by lighting a diesel-soaked rag and throwing it on top of it.
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Hastie, of Harbern Close, West Derby, ran Top Soil Supplies on Juniper Street in Kirkdale. He took umbrage with Gaskells Waste, based on nearby Foster Street, parking articulated vehicles near his yard.
Hastie raised this issue with Gaskells as he believed it was making it difficult for him to operate his business. However, the court heard that Hastie's resentment grew as vehicles continued to be parked near Top Soil Supplies' premises.
At around 5pm on May 2, 2021, Hastie approached the trailer of one of Gaskells' articulated lorries, which was parked near Top Soil's yard on Juniper Street. The trailer was parked up against the fence of another facility, belonging to Energas, which stored gas canisters.
The court heard that the trailer was parked no more than two or three metres away from a cage of gas canisters within Energas' premises.
CCTV footage played in court showed Hastie returning to the trailer ten minutes later with a bottle and a rag soaked in diesel.
He then set fire to the rag and threw it on top of the trailer.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue service attended the scene and were able to put out the fire before it could spread beyond the trailer. However, it sustained damage costing £8,596.
Peter Hussey, prosecuting, told the court that a forensic report showed Hastie's actions could have led to a serious incident and put many people at risk if the gas cylinders had caught fire.
Hastie was arrested but initially denied the offences in police interview.
However, he pleaded guilty to arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered at magistrates' court.
Sentencing, Judge Andrew Menary, QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, said Hastie's "actions were quite deliberate", describing them as being "in the nature of a revenge attack".
He added that Hastie's actions were disproportionate to the frustration caused by Gaskells Waste's parking, saying: “apart from being a bit annoying, they hadn’t done anything wrong.”
The judge continued: "Nothing they did remotely justified what you did in response."
Judge Menary also pointed to the trailer's close proximity to the gas and the potential for the offence to have caused a major incident, saying: "It must have been obvious to you that a short distance away from this lorry were stored gas cylinders."
He told Hastie: "This type of offence is so serious that an immediate custodial sentence is inevitable.”
The judge said Hastie's use of diesel as an accelerant, the recklessness of his actions, and the significant risk of harm they caused were aggravating features in line with a revenge attack.
As a result, Hastie was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.
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