Man jailed for petrol attack

Stephen Sills was convicted at Truro Crown Court

A 48-year-old man has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for attempting to set fire to his wife's house in Cornwall.

Stephen Sills, from Wales, admitted attempting to "damage by fire" a house in Trenython Road in Par, and to being reckless as to whether his wife would be endangered.

Sills poured petrol through the bathroom window of the house in September.

Truro Crown Court heard how he had been suffering from depression after the breakdown of his 13-year marriage.

Custodial sentence

Sills was distraught and had to leave the dock at the court briefly while his counsel, Sean Braunton, spoke of his client's mental state.

Judge Jeffery Rucker told Sills he accepted he was going through emotional turmoil at the time.

However, Judge Rucker said there had to be a custodial sentence because he had threatened to burn the house down and terrified his wife.