A man who tried to burn down a pub after getting into a brawl hours earlier has been jailed.
Liam Noon was one of several people involved in a fight inside The Whitemoor, Nuthall Road, Bobbers Mill, on 1 March this year.
Having been ejected for his role in that – around 1.40 am – Noon refused to let the argument go and so returned to the pub.
Knowing one of the people he’d been fighting with was still there, the 33-year-old smashed a speaker system as well as several windows.
This happened around 2.25am, with Noon then returning to The Whitemoor once more around an hour and a half later – this time deliberately starting a fire.
The emergency services were notified about a fire around 4am, with firefighters extinguishing the flames while also having to rescue a man trapped in an upstairs bedroom.
Having got the man outside to safety, a joint police and fire investigation was launched, which quickly determined the fire had been started deliberately.
Following local inquiries, police were able to identify Noon as being the person responsible.
Faced with the evidence against him, Noon admitted to charges of arson with intent to endanger life, affray and criminal damage, during a court appearance in May.
He returned to Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday (6 November), where he was issued with an extended custodial sentence of 10 years.
Noon, of Costock Avenue, Sherwood, was sentenced to six years in prison and will then spend the remaining four years of his sentence on licence.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Berryman, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“Liam Noon’s decision to do what he did was reckless in the extreme and put the lives of others in genuine danger.
“Seemingly motivated by a dispute he’d had with occupants in a pub a few hours earlier, he returned to the venue and caused criminal damage.
“Smashing some windows was apparently not enough payback for Noon though, as he then made the inexplicable decision to come back again and deliberately light a fire.
“His actions led to his victim being put through a terrifying ordeal, with firefighters having to rescue him when he became trapped in an upstairs room within the pub.
“Thankfully for all concerned, Noon’s decision to commit arson didn’t lead to serious injury, although that shouldn’t take away from what he did and his intentions that morning.
“We’re pleased to see he’s now facing the consequences of his actions in the form of an extended custodial sentence.”
