A JILTED lover set fire to his former girlfriend’s home.
And a court heard how Anthony Bramley stood outside “with a smirk on his face” as choking smoke filled the Brighouse flat.
Now Bramley, 31, has been jailed for four years.
Bramley pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a charge of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, following the incident at the property in Richard Street in March.
Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday how Bramley’s relationship with Joanne Hill had broken down, but after going to her home he started a fire against the wall near a ventilation shaft.
Judge Peter Benson said Bramley had set fire to some rubbish he had collected and Miss Hill was woken by very thick black smoke.
“She saw you outside with what she described as a smirk on your face,” the judge told Bramley.
“She came down, opened the door and then had to fill pans of water a number of times in order to extinguish it. You gave her no assistance in that respect.”
Bramley, of Sticker Lane, Laisterdyke, Bradford, pleaded guilty on the basis that he never intended to cause any harm but had been reckless in starting the fire.
Judge Benson told Bramley it had been a highly dangerous thing to do.
He added that anybody who deliberately starts a fire where there is a risk of serious injury or death must expect a substantial custodial sentence.
Barrister Ken Green, for Bramley, said the fire began in an alcove near the steps to the property. He explained that his client had been outside the property for many hours contemplating the breakdown of the relationship.
“It was a very risky thing to do and it is perhaps fortunate that no more serious consequences flowed from the setting of the fire,” conceded Mr Green.
