Benny Joe Dighton awarded jail term after pleading guilty to string of arson attacks on DIY stores in Kent over busy May Bank Holiday.
The 28-year old had already pleaded guilty to attempted arson with intent to endanger life, arson with intent to endanger life and arson with intent to destroy or damage property and intent to endanger life at a hearing on July 9.

On sentencing Mr Dighton to four years in prison at a hearing in Maidstone Crown Court on August 27, his Honour Judge Gold said: "You pleaded guilty due to painstaking police work. It is drugs that have bought you to the situation you find yourself in today. These are serious matters. You do indeed present a significant risk to the public."

All of the offences Mr Dighton was charged with occurred over the first Bank Holiday weekend in May. On Saturday, May 1 at 12.42pm, Kent Fire and Rescue was called to a Homebase store on the Quarry Road industrial Estate in Aylesford after a fire broke out. At the height of the blaze, around 90 firefighters, 17 fire engines and a number of support vehicles were present at the scene. The building was destroyed and firefighters had to remain at the scene for 42 hours tackling the flames.

A video of the blaze is available here

Just over an hour later, staff at a B&Q store just two miles away on the London Road in Larkfield, had to extinguish a fire in the lighting section of the store, which had been caused by someone setting packaging alight.

The third incident took place on Monday, May 3 at 2pm, when employees at a B&Q store on Barker Road in Maidstone became aware of a customers acting suspiciously. On further inspection, they found the preparation of a fire in a wood aisle, which had been covered with methylated spirits. Luckily the fire had not been started yet and staff immediately reported the incident to police.

Mr Dighton, of no fixed abode, was apprehended that afternoon after CCTV footage from the store revealed that he was there at the time of the incident. After trawling CCTV footage from the Aylesford and Larkfield area, police found that Mr Dighton had been in the vicinity of both Homebase and the Larkfield B&Q store at the times of the fires.

Detective inspector Ian Rogerson, who led the investigation commented: "This was one of the busiest weekends of the year for home improvement shopping so it is a miracle that no-one was seriously injured or killed in these arsons. The damage that did occur, plus the disruption to shoppers and the stores themselves was significant, so I am pleased that the courts have recognised the danger Dighton presents to the public and he will no longer be at liberty to do anything like this for some considerable time to come."

Kent Fire and Rescue Service also welcomed the sentencing of Benny Dighton. Group manager John Robertson, one of the incident commanders on the day of the fire at Homease, said: "Anyone who was there can vouch for the fact that this was a ferocious fire which demanded the use of crews and equipment from all over the county for a prolonged period. This incident had the potential to be a real risk to life as well as property however, thanks to the Homebase staff who quickly and efficiently evacuated the building, no one was hurt and, due to the skill and tireless efforts of those fighting the fire, damage was mostly limited to the store itself."