Victim of arson attack says she 'dreads to think what could have been done'

Bradley Buckley, 27, of Old House Lane, Roydon, and Laura White, 26, of Main Road, Fransham were jailed at Norwich Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to arson.

Bradley Buckley, 27 of Old House Lane, Roydon and Laura White, 26, of Main Road, Fransham have been jailed after an arson attack on a home in Dereham. (Image: Norfolk Constabulary)

The court heard how the pair bought petrol and a lighter from a local petrol station at 8pm before White drove them both to the victim's address on Metamec Drive, Dereham on May 3.

Buckley poured petrol and tried to set light to it, before setting fire to a fence at the side of a property, which was next to a mains gas pipe. He also set fire to the victim's car.

The victim, who was known to White, and her young daughter were in the property at the time and managed to escape through the building’s only exit, the front door, after the fire failed to spread.

In a victim impact statement, the mother spoke of the mental toll the attack had taken on herself and her young daughter.

She said: “[My daughter] is still conscious of who is around and what is happening, and is extremely concerned about me and my safety… I am worried about strangers being around my home.”

“I know that the harm that could have been caused to my daughter and I could have been so much worse, and it could have caused me or my daughter, or anyone else living around us to have been seriously harmed.

"One of the fires was right next to the main gas pipe and I dread to think what could have been done.

"I worry about the possibility of both of them being released out on to the streets, as I don’t trust them at all.

"It really worries me what they could do to me, my daughter, or my family.”

Following enquiries, officers later found the defendants at an address in Stanfield where they were both arrested.

Buckley was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.

White was sentenced to three years' imprisonment.