Firebombers torched house in drug dispute

A TERRACE house was "firebombed" by two masked men armed with jerry cans who smashed a window and lit a fire over a drug dispute.

- PHILIP DEWEY Court correspondent [e-mail]

They were caught in the act by a terrified woman who lived at the property, and they chased her away.

Dean Reddington, 40, and Dean Eastwood, 34, travelled from Manchester to Trethomas, Caerphilly, in order to set fire to a house occupied by Jed Wiegold and his partner.

There had been a dispute between Mr Wiegold and others regarding drugs and there had been a series of incidents involving damage to property and vehicles.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard Mr Wiegold's partner returned to her property in Coronation Street on June 25 when she saw a Vauxhall vehicle containing two men drive slowly past her.

She saw that the two men were wearing balaclavas and, when the vehicle stopped, they got out and were holding green jerry cans with hoses attached.

Upon seeing her, the two men, later identified as Reddington and Eastwood, started walking towards her and she began screaming and banging on neighbours' doors for help.