ARSONISTS who set fire to the door of a house which sparked a blaze which spread to a nearby car have been jailed.

When Bradley Wright, of Bromley Road, Ardleigh, and Brandon Olley, of Harrow Crescent, Romford, arrived at a property in South Weald, Olley they poured petrol all over a Ford Focus parked on the drive. Wright then doused the accelerant onto two doors before a lit rag was used to ignite the flames.

The pair then left the scene in Volkswagen Golf which was spotted by police ten days after the incident in February in Ipswich Road, Colchester.

Wright, 29, was driving and refused to stop but he was eventually detained on the A120 near Coggeshall.

A grey parka jacket with a fur trimmed hood was discovered in the front of the car, which matched one of the coats from the night of the fire, and the number plates it had been displaying ten days before were discovered in the boot.

A series of incriminating texts were discovered on Wright’s phone, including one on the day of the fire, where Olley, 22, claimed to have ‘got an empty drum.'

Olley handed himself in on and received eight months for arson to a vehicle, three years for arson with recklessness to whether life was endangered and eight months for handling stolen goods, all to run concurrent.

Wright was jailed for four years for arson with recklessness to whether life was endangered and 12 months for dangerous driving, to run consecutively. He was disqualified from driving for four years and this will begin on release from prison.

He received eight months for arson to a vehicle and two years for handling stolen goods, to run concurrently.

Det Insp Steve Nelson, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: “Firstly, I want to thank the bravery of the people impacted by this case.

“To have your lives endangered in the one place you’re meant to feel safe, it’s unthinkable.

“They have shown nothing but dignity throughout this investigation and I’m pleased that Olley and Wright had the decency to spare them the ordeal of a trial.

“This investigation was a huge team effort, with lots of different teams across the serious crime directorate putting in their expertise and time to bring this dangerous pair to justice.”