Youth Guilty of fire that caused the death of 4 siblings

Dyson Allen, 19 was found guilty of starting the blaze that killed 4 siblings in Freckleton, Lancashire. Allen was upstairs in the house when the fire was started in the bedroom shared by 3 of the siblings and their mother, on January 7. Allen was a frequent visitor to the house and had spent the previous night there. He was known to be a friend of the oldest son, Reece, who died trying to save his younger siblings. 

Mr Neil Flewitt, prosecuting said that extremely detailed investigations had been conducted, and the unanimous view of forensic experts was that the fire had been started deliberately. Sentencing will be on 27th September.

Allen denied all charges and was cleared of murder, but was convicted of the manslaughter of Reece, 19, twins Holly and Ella, aged 4 and 2 year old Jordan. He was presented in court as being obsessed with fire and admitted involvement in starting a locker fire whilst at high school and of setting fire to a local field.

Article source: The Clitheroe Advertiser 

Plea changed in attempted arson case

After discussions with his barrister Andrew Ford , a Carlisle man, Andrew Beckett changed his plea from not guilty to guilty after being charged with attempted arson. Beckett had returned to a property where he used to unofficially lodge to remove possessions, but he also stole goods from the house and then set a pan on a heated stove and left it. When the tenant returned several hours later the house was filled with smoke, but no fire had started.

Mr Ford, who had expected a guilty plea described Beckett as vulnerable and with learning difficulties. He added that he hoped Beckett would be given a non custodial sentence, bearing in mind the length of time he had already spent in prison, on remand. Sentencing will be on 29th August.

Article Source: News and Star 

Wirral Financier who stole £300,000 from pensioner, jailed for 5 years

Simon Sibthorp, a financial advisor and stockbroker with Liverpool firm Blankstone Sington, was convicted of 19 offences of theft between November 2007 and October 2010.

Ken Grant, prosecuting told the court that Sibthorp had become pensioner Rita Allans account manager in 2000 and started to borrow money from her several years later, breaking explicit financial industry rules against accepting cash from clients. He used the money to buy houses in France, he eventually stole £301,500 from Ms Allan and when his bosses found out he was sacked for gross misconduct. Judge Stephen Everett called the offences despicable.

Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, said that Sibthorp described himself as always having been “a fantasist who lived in a dream world and was always trying to make out he was more successful and wealthier than he was.”

Article Source: Wirral Globe 

Bogus antiques dealer on spending spree with dud cheques.

Paul Gattie was jailed for 3 months for issuing dud cheques across Devon as he posed as a wealthy antiques dealer. He left bad debts totally £14,000 before he was arrested.

Mr John OLeary, defending, said that Gattie was a schizophrenic who needed treatment, rather than punishment and whose offences arose from a disorganised and chaotic lifestyle

Article Source: This is Exeter