A Lancashire man blew up his childhood home because he wrongly believed he had been cut out of his parents’ will.
Darren Davies, 55, set fire to the £260,000 bungalow where he lived with his brother, Craig, in the village of Hambleton following the death of their mother and father just months apart.
Neighbours heard a loud bang on the morning of 27 March 2024 as the property, in Carr Lane, erupted into flames and the roof collapsed.
Davies emerged from the side of the house, and told a passerby: “My family want the house. If I can’t have it, no one can.”
Davies was sentenced on Thursday at Preston Crown Court to four years and four months’ imprisonment.
He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
Prosecutor Michael O’Brien said that three gas cylinders had been placed in the front living room, the kitchen, and one of the bedrooms.
There was petrol in the loft, and a candle had been lit.
“It was concluded that the cause was the application of naked flame to combustible materials, with an ignitable liquid used to accelerate the development of the fire,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The force of the blast exposed people in the vicinity to a risk of life.”
In a statement, Craig Davies told the court that his parents had made wills before they died, leaving equal shares in the bungalow to himself and his brother.
He said he told his brother in 2025 that he wanted to sell the property and “go our separate ways” but said it “would not happen straight away”.
Craig Davies said: “In early 2025, Darren developed the bizarre idea that there was a secret will signed by my dad in the last few months of his life leaving the house solely to myself.
“This was a notion entirely of his making.
“He continually accused me of being part of a plot against him.”
Craig Davies had left home for work before the explosion, but received a WhatsApp message from a friend about 10 minutes after the blast which said that his home had been “burnt to a crisp”.
“Everything I owned in the house had been incinerated.
“Darren has effectively erased everything that defined my life before March 27.”
Among treasured possessions lost in the fire were diaries he had kept from the age of 10, along with family photographs and his parents’ jewellery, the court heard.
Craig Davies applied to the court for compensation from his brother for more than £170,000, including the half-share of the bungalow and £20,000 for the loss of his extensive CD collection.
Judge Philip Parry said the application was “too complex” to determine immediately, with outstanding issues relating to probate of the estate.
The court heard there are a total of four siblings, although only Darren and Craig were given a share of the bungalow.
The defendant was said to have a “long history” of mental health difficulties, including diagnoses of bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety and autism spectrum disorder.
A psychiatric report from the defence concluded that he was mentally unwell at the time of setting the fire, when he was overcome by an “autism crisis”.
Davies sent a letter to the judge in which he apologised to his brother and family, to the neighbours he “put at risk”, and the village of Hambleton.
Neil Ronan, defending, said: “It is merciful and lucky that I make this submission without anyone having been hurt – including him, as it was his plan to end his life.
“For over a decade he was the primary carer for his ailing parents. He did regrettably become more alienated and spent more time in his room when he was not undertaking chores.”
The death of Davies’ parents was said to have been a “devastating blow” for him.
Davies had “historically failed” to understand his mental health issues and had found himself on a “slippery slope”, but had since gained insight, the court heard.
Mr Ronan said that the defendant had made “massive progress” in custody since receiving psychiatric treatment and medication.
He said: “All is not lost for this man.”
Mr Ronan added that his client was in no position to deal with questions of compensation.
“When he is released he is going to have rebuild his life from absolutely nothing,” the barrister said.
Judge Parry told Davies that it was “a sad and serious case”, but he took into account his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity and that his responsibility was “substantially reduced by your mental disorder”.
Davies must serve a maximum of half his sentence in custody, with the remainder on licence.
