A CHESHIRE man has been jailed for 12 years after an arson attack on a block of flats in Macclesfield.

Jack Robinson, 25, currently of London Road, Sandbach, but previously from Macclesfield, pleaded guilty at Chester Crown Court to committing arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, criminal damage and one count of threatening to damage or destroy property.

Chester and District Standard:

Jack Robinson has been jailed for 12 years.

His girlfriend Kayleigh Woods, 26, of Roslyn Road, Stockport, pleaded guilty to one count of assisting an offender.

On Monday, February 11, at about 10.30pm, Robinson was seen to have an argument with Woods in the Silk Trader Pub, on Brook Street, Macclesfield. After this both left the pub together, with Woods driving.

At 3.45am the following day, February 12, Robinson was seen on CCTV at a Tytherington petrol station buying a jerry can and fuel. Woods was driving and Robinson used her card to pay for the petrol.

Robinson was then seen on CCTV at 3.52am pouring petrol all over the doorway of the 15-storey Pennine Court Flats, on Carisbrook Avenue, Macclesfield, and setting fire to it.

Luckily, despite pouring an entire jerry can of petrol on the front door, the fire did not take hold and went out by itself.

Chester and District Standard:

The moment Jack Robinson set fire to the petrol he had poured outside the block of flats.

Robinson tried to set fire to the flats after threatening an ex-girlfriend of his. After he had ran away from the scene he sent her a text message saying “you got was was cumming [sic]”.

In interview Woods said that she helped Robinson out of “fear and love for him”.

Robinson was jailed for 12 years and Woods was handed a two-year prison term, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Detective Constable Alison Shields said: “I am very pleased that this case has come to a conclusion and the sentence Robinson has received shows the gravity of his crimes.

“Macclesfield’s police teams worked on this case for days to make sure we apprehended the offender and were able to charge and remand him to protect the public.

“Arson is a very serious crime and in this case stemmed from Robinson’s bullying behaviour and attitude towards women. This was a domestic related incident. Robinson intended to cause harm to his ex-partner.

“Robinson and Woods gave no regards to the residents of the flats and their behaviour put hundreds of residents at risk.

"Thankfully the fire door on the building did its job and burnt out before taking hold. Had the fire spread then the consequences to all the residents could have potentially been catastrophic.”