An arsonist told detectives he used alcohol hand gel to set fire to his bedding because he had ‘no job and no friends’, a court heard.

However, Oxford Crown Court heard Daniel Boore’s motive for the arson at the Carterton home he shared with his mother may have been more complex.

Sentencing the 32-year-old this afternoon, Recorder Michael Roques said: “It seems you were concerned that your mother was going to ask you to leave home and that [you thought] by causing this fire the council may have to house you separately.”

Boore set the fire at his home Elm Close, Carterton, shortly before midday on July 1.

He later told police officers that he was aware his mum was downstairs when he set the blaze, but thought she would hear the fire alarm or be alerted by the fire brigade.

Having lit the bedclothes, he shut his bedroom door and left the house – without warning his mother – then called 999.

In fact, the defendant’s mother learned about the blaze when a neighbour, who had seen the fire, knocked at her door. By that point, the flames were too fierce for her to extinguish alone and the fire was eventually put out by firefighters.

Boore handed himself in to Carterton police station that afternoon.

A set of four ASDA steak knives – still in their packaging – was found among his belongings. He told a psychiatrist that he bought the knives as he thought he would be made homeless and acquired the knives in order to cut up his food.

A plastic pistol’ BB gun was also found in his possession, which the defendant said was ‘for protection’. He had not been charged with a firearms offence.

Interviewed by detectives in the wake of the fire, Boore said he woke at 9am on the day of the blaze. Prosecutor James Ross summarised: “[He] was angry about his life and the situation he found himself in, with no job and no friends.”

Mr Ross said the house had been so badly damaged the structure was unsafe and ‘will be demolished’, although the defendant’s advocate pointed out that the property was still standing and potentially repairable. A car parked beside the house and which was damaged during the blaze had had to be written off.

Boore’s mother had not provided a victim impact statement.

Mitigating, Gareth James described the arson as a ‘cry for help’ by a young man with substantial difficulties. His client had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, which a psychiatrist interviewing him believed had contributed to his decision to start the fire.

Boore, of Elm Close, Carterton, pleaded guilty at an earlier crown court hearing to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. He admitted possession of a bladed article when he appeared at the magistrates’ court.

He had one previous conviction on this record. In July 2015, he had returned to his old school and trashed a classroom ‘in frustration at the unhappy time he had spent at that school’, the judge summarised.

Jailing him for three years, Recorder Roques said he hoped the arson – the defendant’s first – was a ‘one-off’.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward