Arsonist set to face hefty jail term (From Southend Standard)
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Arsonist set to face hefty jail term
6:40am Tuesday 12th February 2013 in News
A FIREBUG is facing a hefty prison sentence for causing several arsons in Westcliff.
John Hanson, 36, will now undergo psychiatric and probation reports to see what danger he could pose to the public.
It comes after police investigated a series of fires in the Hamlet Court Road area which affected a house and bins behind shops.
They were all committed within a space of 40 minutes on the evening of September 10 last year and caused £4,400 of damage.
Hanson, of Beedel Avenue, Westcliff, was later arrested and charged with four arsons before being remanded in custody.
He appeared before Southend Crown Court via videolink here he pleaded guilty to an arson which caused damage to the rear of the Love & Kisses card shop in Hamlet Court Road and to a commercial wheelie bin behind Westcliff Fish Bar, in London Road.
But he denied an arson which caused damage to the double glazed windows and guttering of a house in Westbourne Grove and to a wheelie bin belonging to Bairstow Eves estate agents. The prosecution accepted the not guilty pleas and decided not to pursue these cases.
Hanson will be sentenced on April 18.
