Arsonists guilty of fire which destroyed mansion

Two arsonists have admitted sparking a fire that destroyed a £1.8 million mansion.

George Brandy, aged 34, of New Basford, and Richard Sylvester, 40, of Radford, both Nottingham, were charged in connection with the fire at the property in Chester Road, Aldridge, last April.

They have both pleaded guilty to arson being reckless to whether life was endangered.

Stafford Crown Court also heard Sylvester plead guilty to possession of a class A drug with intent to supply and possession of a class B drug.

A third man, Parminder Kandola, aged 33, pleaded not guilty to arson and will stand trial in July.

Brandy and Sylvester will be sentenced at the conclusion of Kandola's trial.

The house, which was unoccupied, was gutted in the fire and the damage was believed to have cost £400,000. More than 50 firefighters spent hours fighting the blaze at its height. Police were alerted to the blaze when Sylvester staggered badly-burned into Bloxwich Police Station on the night of the fire.

He was left in critical condition at hospital. The house was previously owned by David "Nipper" Harris, who was jailed for six years in 1994, aged 44, for being the ringleader of a £35m mortgage fraud.

The Serious Organised Crime squad had confiscated the house under the Proceeds of Crime Act and issued a press release about selling it off just a week before the arson attack. SOCA later said the house would be rebuilt and sold.