Arsonist jailed after he set fire to multiple cars

An arsonist who set fire to six cars, Christmas decorations and electricity cabling in Hucknall has been jailed.

Nottinghamshire Police said it received an abandoned call, believed to be from Scott Knight, claiming he had been kidnapped and stabbed on 4 January.

When officers responded to the call in Poppy Close, they spotted smoke coming from the direction of nearby Nottingham Road and found multiple cars on fire.

Knight, 38, was arrested and pleaded guilty to six counts of arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered and one count of arson. He was sentenced to six years in prison and three years on licence on Friday at Nottingham Crown Court.

Knight was also handed a restraining order preventing him from entering Hucknall for 10 years.

Police said the arson attacks included a car belonging to a disabled resident who had to be assisted out of the address by neighbours. Another car, officers said, was reversed off a driveway with its wheel arch on fire.

The force added that when officers put one fire out with an extinguisher they found a bottle - containing an unknown liquid - which appeared to be the source of the blaze.

Officers said they found Knight in an intoxicated state in nearby Acacia Close and arrested him.

During searches, police said officers found a lighter in his pockets - with investigations finding the cause of the fires to be deliberate ignition from a naked flame.

Det Con Abbie Roberts said Knight's actions that evening were "unbelievably reckless" and put a number of people at risk of "serious harm or worse".

"He went from home to home, seemingly at random, setting fire to anything he came across.

"Thankfully, both response officers and firefighters were quickly at the scene and the fires were put out before they spread any further.

"Although no-one was seriously injured, the fires have had a significant and lasting impact on the victims.

"One couple's son has particularly struggled since that evening and still requires counselling.

"His parents say he is not the same little boy he was before being confronted by these terrifying flames outside his home."

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