Arsonist laughed as £1m cottage burned

Jobless ex-prisoner Matthew Watson, 21, yelled "this will be on the news" as he set fire to Tony and cancer sufferer Pauline Smith's listed property after binge-drinking.

York Crown Court heard Watson, who had tried to burn down the cottage before, finally carried out the attack as he staggered through leafy Knaresborough with friend Peter Harley in April last year.

Screaming, "I am going to set this f***er on fire" he held a cigarette lighter to the thatch – which was only waist-high next to a sloping road – and watched it burn.

Inside the couple, both ill and in their 70s, were unaware of the terrible danger they were in until the power went off. Mr Smith went outside to investigate and was shocked to see the thatched roof engulfed in flames. The couple escaped without injury but lost their home and possessions.

Watson, who when questioned by police appeared "indifferent" to the lives he had put at risk, was given an indefinite jail term and must serve a minimum of three-and-a-half years before he is considered for parole.

Judge Stephen Ashurst said: "Mr and Mrs Smith had a very lucky escape fleeing from their home. The reality is an elderly couple could easily have died due to your callous and reckless act.

"The devastation caused to them is still of a very high order. Everyone values the sanctity of their home. For a couple in their 70s, the sudden and dramatic loss of everything they owned is something almost too unhappy for both of them."

Prosecuting barrister David Brooke said the Smiths bought the home for 450,000 in 2006 and had spent a further 70,000 renovating it into their dream retirement home.

He added: "This is a tragic case for the couple. The restorations had only just been completed when they were watching TV on a Saturday evening at 9.45pm.

"The electricity tripped, Tony went outside to investigate and found the thatched roof alight, and they managed to flee and call the fire brigade."

Harley told his probation officer what had happened two months later and his friend was arrested. Mr Brooke said Watson had threatened to set the cottage alight before, but Harley did not believe his friend would do it until he saw him use the lighter.

Watson, of Copt Hewick near Ripon, has previous convictions for burglary, violence, and theft and has been in jail twice before. He admitted arson with recklessness to life and a separate shoplifting offence while on bail.

To rebuild the home– the only thatched cottage in the wealthy area and worth nearly 1m – would have cost 700,000. The Smiths had to sell the ruins for just 150,000.

They lost all their belongings worth 50,000, including antique furniture, and have been living ever since in rented accommodation they call a "pale shadow" of their old home. A week after the arson Mrs Smith was diagnosed with cancer.

Jon Gregg, defending, said his client had been a "drunken wastrel" who knew he could be have faced more serious charges because the home owners could have died. "He recognises the full horror of what he has done and the effect on the poor couple," he added.

Outside court, retired nurse Mrs Smith, 77, said: "It means he won't be able to do this again to anybody else for a very long time. But we have been to hell and back. He destroyed everything."

Retired businessman Mr Smith, 78, added: "He has ruined our lives."