Arsonist David Blagdon set fire to an Oxfordshire church because he thought his life would be better behind bars, it emerged today.

Support is growing for the release of Blagdon, 47, who was jailed for life 21 years ago for causing arson at St Laurence's Church, in South Hinksey, Oxford.

He only caused £1,200 of damage to church pews and curtains but it was his third conviction for arson and he was given a life sentence. Blagdon's case is due to be heard by the Parole Board in November but the Oxford Mail is campaigning for Home Secretary Jack Straw to intervene now.

In an emotional letter to his solicitor Kevin O'Gorman, the prisoner has revealed how he came to set fire to the church on July 7, 1978, as a 27-year-old. And he told how he carried out the crime as a cry for help, following the death of his stepmother and stepfather in the space of a few weeks.

Writing from his cell in Bullingdon Prison near Bicester, he recalled: "I thought, I don't care any more. I cannot cope with all this. I would be better off in prison with nothing to worry about, with everything done for me.

"As I went past a village, I thought that is it, so I went to the church, broke in, saw that no-one was in and set fire to the curtains. Then I put the fire out and sat on the doorstep until the police came to pick me up." Blagdon then told how he spent the next 20 years being moved from jail to jail, including Parkhurst and Dartmoor.

More than 70 prisoners at Bullingdon have signed a petition calling for his release.

Mr O'Gorman said: "We want immediate action now from Jack Straw. David Blagdon should not languish behind bars any longer." Mr O'Gorman has also urged Oxford Mail readers to write to the Home Secretary at the Home Office, Queen Anne's Gate, London, SW 1, to demand the prisoner's release.

Chris Moss, 55, of Bridge Street, Osney, Oxford, who alerted police after Blagdon set fire to the church, added: "I am so upset that he has spent all this time in prison."

Story date: Tuesday 09 February

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