Man jailed for Cheltenham arson and spitting in police officer's face
41 year old Martin Foley attacked an officer who tried to rescue him
A man, who started a fire inside a Cheltenham home and then spat in the face of a police officer who helped rescue him, has been jailed for three years.
41 year old Martin Foley admitted arson, threats to kill and assaulting an emergency worker at Gloucester Crown Court.
He must serve up to half of his custodial sentence before being released on licence.
What happened?
Foley had called police in October last year - after having a disagreement with his partner, saying that if officers did not attend, he would stab him.
He was seen on an internal camera walking around inside the property on Larput Place with a large kitchen knife.
That camera footage was being watched live by the tenant of the property - who was on holiday out of the country at the time.
Foley took a lighter and set fire to a duvet on the bedroom floor, which resulted in the contents of the room being destroyed.
Neighbouring properties were evacuated due to safety concerns, as it was a mid-terrace home.
At the time, attending officers did not know whether Foley was the only person inside the property, and due to the threats he had made, they had concerns that someone else may be injured inside.
Attending officers made attempts to search the premises before the fire service arrived - and placed themselves at risk by climbing onto a fragile roof while Foley was hanging out of a rear upstairs window, dragging him out to safety.
He then became aggressive and had to be restrained, spitting in the face of one of the officers.
Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control with no damage caused to neighbouring properties.
A statement from a co-owner of the property was read to the court in which she said: "The fire at my property has caused me immense stress and has been a complete shock. I am deeply saddened to learn that this incident was deliberately caused."
A statement from the officer was read in court which said: "I became aware of Foley hanging out of a first floor window with smoke billowing out of the window behind him. I immediately climbed on top of a flimsy plastic lean-to roof to help Foley out of the burning building.
"As Foley came to, he became aggressive and at one point spat in my eye. This was particularly unpleasant and I had to use my balaclava to clean my eye immediately. I found this incident shocking, especially as I was helping to save this male’s life."
His Honour Judge Rupert Lowe said during sentencing: "Police officers arrived in response to your call to find smoke billowing from the upstairs windows front and back, as seen on video. They evacuated the neighbours and you were found halfway out of an upstairs window.
"Officers had to help you down onto a not very strong looking structure or lean to, and when they helped you down, of course at risk to themselves, you were aggressive and had to be restrained and you spat in the face of police officer's name removed."
"Now this act, the arson, or the series of acts caused immense suffering to a number of people.
"The apology you undoubtedly owe to everyone is maybe not going to wash very much because they've had such distress and loss, but I do believe that your remorse is genuine in this case."
Detective Constable Gareth Wright from Gloucestershire Police said: "This was a serious incident which could have had catastrophic consequences if the home had become engulfed in flames.
"Thankfully officers were able to quickly evacuate the nearby properties while Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service got the fire under control.
"No-one should be subjected to abuse or physical assault at any point, let alone while working, but Foley went one step further and spat in the face of one of his rescuers, which is completely unacceptable.
"Alongside this, the ordeal was horrible for the tenant who had to helplessly watch live while abroad as all of his belongings caught fire, and the incident has caused ongoing stress and upset for the home owners who are still going through a lengthy process to try and repair the property."