Jail for vengeful ex-employee who started fire at leading Yorkshire pub

Bradford Crown Court heard that Leigh Meeks, 33, wanted to teach his former boss a lesson by starting a fire in the storage area of The Fleece pub in Addingham, but the early hours blaze quickly spread, gutting part of the listed building in September.

Meeks, who had no previous convictions, had become frustrated after losing his bar job at a sister pub, the Craven Heifer, which meant he had to move out of his accommodation in The Fleece.

The court heard that he was also upset because some of his belongings left at the Fleece may have been destroyed.

In the early hours drunken Meeks went into the storage area of the pub where he set fire to a rag doused in lighter fluid and put into a cardboard box.

Meeks fled the scene without raising the alarm and the blaze quickly spread, engulfing the roof and putting the lives of two members of staff at risk.

The men, who had been sleeping in the living quarters at the pub, had to be rescued by fire crews from a window after being trapped by smoke from the blaze.

Meeks, of School Lane, Addingham, pleaded guilty at a previous court hearing to arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered and today he was jailed for six years and eight months.

Prosecutor John Bull said the bill to repair and re-fit the Fleece pub was thought to be about £750,000, and its owner Craig Minto estimated that the fire would also cost about £250,000 in lost revenue.

It is understood that the pub may be ready to re-open in June next year.

Meeks was identified from CCTV footage and when he was arrested he told police: ”I’ve done something stupid.”

The defendant believed that no-one would be in the pub when he started the fire and his solicitor advocate Assumpta O’Rourke said her client was now remorseful and apologetic for what he had done.

She said Meeks fully appreciated the seriousness of the offence and still found it difficult to comprehend.

Jailing Meeks, Judge Mark Savill said feelings of unfairness and resentment had begun to fester in his mind, but nothing that happened between him and his employer could justify what he did.

“This was, as we sit here in the cold light of day, something that has to be viewed as an act of pure revenge,” said Judge Savill.

The judge said the offence had been planned and Meeks had taken lighter fluid with him with the specific intention of setting the fire.

Judge Savill said Meeks left without raising the alarm and someone could have died in the fire.