WOMAN SETS EX'S HOUSE ABLAZE LEAVING HIM WITH 'JUST THE CLOTHES ON HIS BACK'
An arsonist who torched her former boyfriend's house has shattered the lives of three innocent individuals.Stacey Hinks, 34, ignited a blaze that obliterated three homes, leaving her ex-partner with nothing but the clothes he was wearing at the time.
She has now been sentenced to four years and ten months in prison.
Hinks, of no fixed abode, deliberately set fire to the property on Springfield Grove, Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, on the evening of 15 May, before phoning her ex-boyfriend to inform him his house was ablaze.
Initially sceptical that Hinks had executed the attack, the victim only grasped the reality when he started receiving calls from worried friends and family members later that night checking on his wellbeing.
His home was reduced to rubble.
He lost all his possessions, including irreplaceable sentimental items, and was left with just the clothes he was wearing that night.
In his victim impact statement, Hinks' former partner revealed: "I lost everything, a lot of it can't be replaced.
I had lots of sentimental items in my home that are gone now." He went on: "I literally had the clothes on my back, everything was destroyed.
All my furniture and belongings were lost that night." She also outlined how he has "struggled every day since", all due to stress caused by the blaze.
His now 90-year-old neighbour, who also lost her home and treasured possessions including mementos from her late husband, addressed her victim impact statement directly to Hinks.
She declared: "You will never understand the harm that you have done to me.
Mentally, physically, financially and emotionally.
I hope that you can sleep on a night because I certainly can't.
I will think about this for the rest of my life.
She described how she was forced to leave the bungalow she had moved into with her husband 27-years previously, moving in with family members in a different town, away from friends and family, and how Hinks has taken away her independence because of what she did.
"I have to rely on other people for everything now," she stated.
Another neighbour, who had resided in her property since 2009, remembered watching the inferno develop on her security cameras and how she observed on the recordings the frantic efforts of her neighbours to guarantee her safety.
"Since you burnt my bungalow down, I have lost everything that I own.
I have lost mementos to my late husband and son; all of my memories and belongings are gone." Despite answering no comment in interviews, Hinks, who was arrested two days after the fire, was subsequently charged with arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.
She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a total of four years and ten months' imprisonment when she appeared before York Crown Court on October 6.
Speaking following sentencing, Detective Constable Karen Everitt of North Yorkshire Police, who led on the investigation said: "Hinks devastated the lives of three innocent people.
Her ex-partner and his neighbours lost everything, their homes, their belongings, and precious memories.
The emotional toll has been immense.
Thanks to the quick and brave actions of nearby residents, an elderly woman was safely evacuated, and the two other residents were confirmed not to be home at the time." "Had things been different, the consequences could have been far more tragic.
Hinks showed complete disregard for the safety of others." "I'm pleased she eventually admitted her guilt and is now behind bars, where she belongs."
