Man who started fire in his flat in Wirral jailed for arson

Andrew Heggarty, 55, set fire to a mattress and other items in the bedroom of his second floor flat in Egremont in the early hours of August 30, last year.

Heggarty, now of Parkside, Wallasey, had pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered, and appeared to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday afternoon, August 28.

The judge said that nothing other than an “immediate sentence” could serve as “proper punishment” for Heggarty’s actions in starting the fire in his flat on Trafalgar Road, Egremont.

Prosecuting, Gerald Baxter told the court that Heggarty’s property was on the second floor of a three-storey house which had been converted into flats.

At around 4am on August 30, 2023, another tenant of the flats, a woman, “was awoken by the sound of somebody banging on the door of one of the flats and realised she could smell smoke.

“She opened the window and there were people on the street shouting to her to get out of her flat”.

Mr Baxter said she “struggled to find the keys to open the front door” before she “did manage” and “saw firemen” going up the stairs to “the defendant’s flat”.

He added that firemen entered Heggarty’s flat and “found the fire had been started within the bedroom of the defendant’s flat” adding “one of the other tenants had already risked his life trying to force open the front door of the defendant’s flat trying to rescue him”.

However, Mr Baxter said that “by then the defendant had left his flat and fled to his mother’s address where he made a 999 call to report the fire”.

Heggarty was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court (Image: Stock)

It was said a “cigarette light” was found “close to the fire and “cigarette butts and that “in the opinion of investigators the fire had been started deliberately in the defendants bedroom”.

Mr Baxter said “other residents were placed at risk of injury or death by the fire or from the resulting effects of the fire.”

The court was told the cost of repairing the damage caused exceeded £30,000 and tenants were temporarily moved to a hotel in Liverpool.

Mr Baxter said Heggarty later returned to his flat and told police he “must have fallen asleep” and woke up “to the smell of burning” and after trying to find his phone then went to his mother’s.

Heggarty was “later arrested for arson, at that point, he became nervous”, added Mr Baxter.

It was added police found a “small bag containing a white substance” the defendant said was amphetamine.

In a police interview, Heggarty told police he “had been watching television drinking” and “smoking cigarettes” and got up to “go to the toilet and when he opened the door smoke started coming in”. Heggarty had said “he didn’t start the fire”.

Mr Baxter said Heggarty admitted to the offence on July 4 this year, four days before a trial was due to begin after he pleading not guilty initially to arson.

The court was told the defendant had previous convictions for an offensive weapon offence in 2011 and causing damage to property in 2016 and 2017.

Defending Heggarty, Robert Wyn Jones said ”it seems his problem is clearly alcohol and substance misuse and that he is “motivated if given the opportunity to address these problems” adding “he knows an immediate custodial sentence would be perfectly justified”.

Passing sentence, judge Simon Medland KC said he acknowledged Heggarty “didn’t intend to endanger life” but was “reckless to whether life was in danger” adding “your plea didn’t come at the earliest stage”.

The judge added: "This posed a significant and obvious risk of danger to life of the other occupants of the premises and the emergency services who attended."

He noted Heggarty, who appeared for the hearing via video link from custody, committed the offence “against a background” of previous convictions including criminal damage.

“You were significantly affected (by) drinking alcohol” adding “that is a significant feature of your life” and noted that in a psychiatrist report Heggarty was described as  “alcohol dependent”. The defendant also has a “history” of drug use which “significantly affects your mental health and wellbeing to the point that you committed this offence”.

Judge Medland said: “This offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified” adding that “proper punishment” can’t be imposed “if this were anything other than an immediate sentence”.

The judge said the starting point was three years, reduced by one-sixth for Heggarty’s guilty plea, making a jail term of two and a half years.