Man sentenced to 4 years 4 months for arson in Lancashire

A man has been sentenced to four years and four months in prison for deliberately setting fire to his family home in Lancashire, causing a massive explosion that destroyed the property and endangered the surrounding community. Darren Davies, 55, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court on July 30, 2026, after pleading guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.

The court heard that on the morning of March 27, 2025, Davies ignited the four-bedroom detached bungalow on Carr Lane in the village of Hambleton. He had poured petrol throughout the bedrooms and attic and positioned three gas cylinders inside the property before lighting a candle. The resulting explosion engulfed the house in flames, hurling glass and debris across the road and leaving only one wall standing. Thick black smoke was visible from a distance.

Davies emerged from the side of the building miraculously uninjured. He told a passerby, "My family want the house. If I can't have it, no one can." He also informed neighbors, police officers, and paramedics that he had intended to take his own life. Firefighters managed to contain the blaze before it could spread to neighboring homes.