Boy, 12, in TV remote row set fire to Stafford home
A 12-year-old schoolboy caused £100,000 worth of damage by sett-ing fire to his home in a row over the TV remote control, a court heard.
Family members, including his sister who was upstairs when the blaze broke out, had to flee for their lives as it took hold.
The youngster had gone into his mother's bedroom and used her cigarette lighter to start the blaze, setting a pillow and quilt alight.
He later told police he had done it following an argument with his sister and his mother had taken the TV remote control off him.
Mr Paul Farrow, prosecuting, told Stafford Crown Court the insurance cost of the blaze was put at between £80,000 and £100,000.
The boy, who is now 13 and cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted a charge of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. He was given a three-year youth rehabilitation order with a fostering requirement for nine months.
Judge Michael Challinor told him that starting the fire had been a 'ghastly mistake'. "I have to sentence you for starting a fire at your home that caused a lot of damage and might have killed your sister. It is a very serious offence and an adult would have expected a very long prison sentence."
Mr Farrow said that after raising the fire, the boy went downstairs and said nothing. The smoke alarm went off just as his mother's partner arrived home. Smoke was billowing from the bedroom – the bed and a chest of drawers was ablaze. All members of the family were told to get out, but the defendant's sister was on an upstairs floor and she had to run downstairs, covering her face.
The boy from Stafford was arrested in October and he told police he had lit a candle and put paper over it to put it out. He then lit a corner of a pillow and the quilt. He tried to stamp that out but failed. Mr Stephen Bailey, defending, said: "He has had a difficult young life and he is still only 13. He knows what a serious position he is in."
