Neighbour set fire to Army veteran's gazebo

MAN SUFFERED FLASHBACKS AFTER INCIDENT

- By VICTORIA WILLIAMS

AN Army veteran says he suffered flashbacks while relaxing in his hot tub when a neighbour set fire to his gazebo.

Dennis Coles says he was left terrified after the roof of the structure went up in flames as he enjoyed a soak in the shed next to it.

The 66-year-old says he was transported back to Northern Ireland, where he suffered a traumatising petrol bomb attack during a riot in early 80s.

CCTV shows Dennis' neighbour, Wayne Loughman, smoking a cigarette and loitering, before throwing a lit object over the fence, which lands on the roof of the gazebo, sparking the fire.

The granddad jumped out of his hot tub, and ran into his kitchen, where he called the police and looked at the footage from a security camera in his garden.

Dennis, of Stockton, said: "I was petrified. I was sitting in the hot tub, which is in a shed, relaxing at the end of the day.

"All of a sudden, I glanced out of the window and to my horror the roof of the gazebo was on fire.

"Luckily, it burnt out really quickly, but it brought back memories of my time in Ireland.

"I was on fire, and the lads had to put me out. It was traumatising, and it brought on my PTSD. It could have been so much worse. If the shed had also caught fire, which it easily could have done, I might have died.