Controlling man poured petrol into house while his ex-partner slept - and then set it alight

A MAN who poured petrol through the letterbox at his former partner's home before setting it alight, is beginning a 30-year jail sentence.

- By STAFF REPORTER

Nicholas Martin, of Bosworth Street, Leicester, was found guilty of attempted murder and assault occasioning actual bodily harm after a trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court in September.

Martin, 63, was back in the same court on Monday to be sentenced to 30 years.

He was also made the subject of a lifelong restraining order against the victim.

Martin, who had become increasingly controlling in his five-year relationship before it ended, struck at his ex-partner's home, in the Greater Manchester area, at about 5.10am on October 22 last year, setting fire to the house before fleeing.

The woman, who leapt out of a first-floor window to safety, suffered two broken ankles and a broken vertebrae in her back from the jump.

She had woken up after hearing her letterbox snapping closed, and then heard a crackling sound which resembled a log burner.

Shortly after she realised her house was on fire downstairs and jumped out of her bedroom window.

Her pet cat was killed in the fire.

Martin had been in a relationship with the woman since 2019 but had became increasingly controlling, monitoring her movements, preventing her from seeing family members and constantly criticising her.