Sidcup man jailed for arson at home of pregnant ex-girlfriend and 10-year-old son

Michael Lane, 32, of Thursland Road was sentenced on Friday, February 10 at the Old Bailey to six years in prison after pleading guilty to arson with intent to endanger life.

Lane started the fire at around 11.45pm on Tuesday, June 28 last year at the home of his pregnant ex-partner, aged 29, and ten-year-old child in Riverside Road, Erith.

Her parents, including her disabled mother, and brothers were also at home asleep.

They were alerted by a fire alarm and managed to escape unharmed.

Lane had been drinking that evening in Crayford with his brother and two friends. At around 10.15pm, Lane and his brother caught a bus to Bexleyheath before they parted and Lane then got on another bus and made his way towards his ex-partner's home.

The pair had been in an on-off relationship for a number of years and she was pregnant with their child at the time.

Lane got inside through a back door and set a pile of clothes at the end of a bed, which was downstairs, on fire.

It was unoccupied at the time but the fire quickly took hold, gutting the bedroom, a bathroom, the kitchen and hallway.

Lane was arrested the following day, taken into custody and interviewed.

He was caught out after stating he went straight home to Sidcup after the night out.

He had called his brother from the victim's home and apparently told him that he was walking around the house while the family were asleep eating a corned beef sandwich.

Lane was charged on June 30 last year.

Detective Constable Katie Castle of Bexley Police said: "This was a particularly nasty crime which occurred after the breakdown of a relationship. The consequences could have been fatal.

"I'm pleased that Lane will no longer be a threat to his ex-partner or her family or to other members of the public.

"The only consolation that can be taken from this is that by pleading guilty he has spared the family the further ordeal of a trial and hopefully they can now move on with their lives."