South Yorkshire arsonist jailed after starting fire near flats in Dalton, Rotherham

An arsonist has been jailed after putting residents’ lives at risk when he set fire to furniture stacked close to flats.
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Sheffield Crown Court heard on November 5 how Alex Teasdale, aged 28, of Meadow Close, Dalton, Rotherham, stacked furniture against a neighbour’s flat on Meadow Close before setting it on fire, causing £1,680 of damage.

Judge David Dixon told Teasdale: “It seems you were under the influence of alcohol for reasons you cannot explain now because you claim you could not remember what happened or why.

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"You went to a neighbour’s address, piled up some furniture and set it alight. Fortunately, while the fire attracted attention it was put out by the fire service relatively quickly.”

Pictured is Alex Teasdale, aged 28, of Meadow Close, Dalton, Rotherham, who was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 46 months of custody after he admitted committing arson recklessly as to whether life would be endangered at flats on Meadow Close.Pictured is Alex Teasdale, aged 28, of Meadow Close, Dalton, Rotherham, who was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 46 months of custody after he admitted committing arson recklessly as to whether life would be endangered at flats on Meadow Close.
Pictured is Alex Teasdale, aged 28, of Meadow Close, Dalton, Rotherham, who was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 46 months of custody after he admitted committing arson recklessly as to whether life would be endangered at flats on Meadow Close.
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Prosecuting barrister Nick Adlington said a resident spotted a stack of blazing furniture next to a flat door and their CCTV footage showed a male approaching the property.

Mr Adlington added that the fire service confirmed the blaze had involved a deliberate ignition and the Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council flat suffered damage valued at £1,680.60 to the windows, guttering, a gas pipe and fencing.

Teasdale, who has 16 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to committing arson recklessly as to whether life would be endangered following the incident on September 22, 2019.

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Defence barrister Gurdial Singh asked Judge Dixon to consider Teasdale’s ‘appalling upbringing’.

He said: “There is no suggestion he is a fire-starter or anything of that sort but his drink and substance abuse may have played a part.”

Mr Singh added that Teasdale had not used any accelerants and the damage caused had been limited.

Judge Dixon told Teasdale that people at two separate flats had been put at risk by his actions.

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He added: “The gas pipe to the central heating system was affected by the fire. It’s not clear exactly what that means but the obvious implication is that if the gas pipe had been tampered with as a result of the fire the building could have blown up.”

Judge Dixon, who sentenced Teasdale to 46 months of custody, said: “There were multiple people endangered and, indeed, this was a matter which had the potential to be extremely serious.”