Chorley arson attack photographs show devastation at family home

The property, on Vicarage Street, was left with fire and smoke damage after two disgruntled men posted burning material through the letterbox while a family was inside the address on June 24 last year.

Sean Fisher, 25, of no fixed abode, and Liam Wilkinson, 30, of Pennine Road, Chorley, started lengthy jail terms on Friday.

Photographs taken by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service showed the charred remains of the front door and hallway, and the smoke damage to other parts of the house, near Erskine Road park.

Preston Crown Court was told the men had been told to leave the party after Wilkinson assaulted the hostess.

The property caught fire at around 3.10am on June 24, leaving three people trapped inside one of the upstairs rooms.

As firefighters arrived flames were tearing through the bottom floor of the building.

The terrified family was rescued by firefighters who smashed through an upstairs window, before the casualties were passed into the care of paramedics.

Firefighters used four breathing apparatus, a hose reel and ventilation unit to extinguish the fire and were there for approximately three hours.

Both men admitted arson with intent to endanger life.

During their sentencing, held at the Nightingale Court in Ashton Hall, Lancaster, Judge Andrew Jefferies QC said Wilkinson posed a risk to the public and imposed an extended three year licence period on top of his six year and one month jail term.

Fisher was jailed for five and a half years, and both men were given an indefinite restraining order banning contact with a woman at the address.

The judge described it as "a planned act of revenge."

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