Arsonist in balaclava set fire to house with petrol in 'vendetta'

A BALACLAVA-CLAD arsonist waging a “vendetta” set fire to a house in Caernarfon. Kevin Evans poured petrol through the letterbox of a property before setting it alight.

- David Powell

He had filled a jerry can with the petrol before pushing the nozzle through the letterbox, and later putting the container, which was in a bag for life, into a skip.

The defendant was also seen carrying a long knife or machete.

The occupant spotted what was happening and managed to flee with her partner. A casualty injured in the incident named Evans, 33, as the suspected arsonist, and he was later arrested. Police rushed to his home and found him trying to wash his petrolsoiled clothes.

Evans later pleaded guilty to committing arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered in the incident which happened in Cae Llwybr in Caernarfon last December.

On Thursday, a judge at Caernarfon Crown Court jailed Evans, of Cae Bold, Caernarfon, for five years and seven months.

He was also handed a six-month jail term to run concurrently for possession of a knifethe machete - in a public place.

Prosecutor John Wyn Williams said the fire service told police about a report of a “petrol bomb” being thrown at a house in Cae Llwybr in Caernarfon and that the house was “alight” on Monday, December 9 last year.