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24/02/2012
Man Admits London Riots Arson Of Furniture Store
At the Old Bailey in London a man has admitted to starting the ‘catastrophic’ House of Reeves fire during the 2011 summer riots.
The court heard that after stealing a laptop from the store in Croydon, Gordon Thompson, 33, asked around for a lighter and set fire to a sofa, telling another man, “it was me”, as he walked away from the burning building. Thompson had previously admitted burglary of Iceland and House of Fraser but denied the charge of arson.
The store blaze was so fierce that buildings across the street also caught alight and tram lines in the road where damaged. The 150-year-old Reeves store has since been demolished.
Sentencing will be carried out on April 11 with Judge Peter Thornton QC saying he expected Thompson to receive a “lengthy sentence”.
(H)
The court heard that after stealing a laptop from the store in Croydon, Gordon Thompson, 33, asked around for a lighter and set fire to a sofa, telling another man, “it was me”, as he walked away from the burning building. Thompson had previously admitted burglary of Iceland and House of Fraser but denied the charge of arson.
The store blaze was so fierce that buildings across the street also caught alight and tram lines in the road where damaged. The 150-year-old Reeves store has since been demolished.
Sentencing will be carried out on April 11 with Judge Peter Thornton QC saying he expected Thompson to receive a “lengthy sentence”.
(H)
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