Neighbour sets army veteran’s gazebo on fire while he is relaxing in hot tub

An army veteran said he suffered flashbacks from a petrol bomb attack when his neighbour set his gazebo alight just feet from him.

Wayne Loughman, 52, pleaded guilty to arson after setting a gazebo alight in his neighbour Dennis Coles’ garden in Stockton-on-Tees while the army veteran was in a hot tub just feet away, after claiming to be disturbed by noise.

Mr Coles, 66, said the attack brought back memories of his time serving in Northern Ireland during the Troubles of the 1980s, when he faced a petrol bomb attack.

The army veteran was relaxing in a hot tub outside on May 11 when his neighbour burnt down his gazebo.

He said he may not have survived the attack had the blaze reached his shed.

He said: ‘I was petrified. I was sitting in the hot tub, which is in a shed, relaxing at the end of the day.

‘All of a sudden, I glanced out of the window and to my horror the roof of the gazebo was on fire.’

His wife, Susan Hilson-Greener, 66, tried to confront Loughman after reviewing CCTV footage of the inferno.

But the angry neighbour refused to discuss the matter with her, saying: ‘Shhh, my missis is in bed.’

The couple, who have lived next to Loughman for 25 years, claimed he had a history of targeting them, including by pouring excrement on their car and throwing a Chinese takeaway into their garden.

Pleading guilty to arson at Teeside Crown Court, Loughman said he launched his attack after being disturbed by noise in the evening from Mr Coles’ hot tub.

The army veteran disputed this claim, saying he was enjoying the bubbles on his own.

He added that he and his wife usually used the tub at around 9 or 10pm on weekday summer evenings after work.

Sentencing, Judge Jonathan Carroll told Loughman that he should have knocked on Mr Coles’ door and dealt with the situation more diplomatically.

He handed Loughman a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years on top of an order requiring 200 hours of unpaid work and a £500 fine in compensation to Mr Coles.

Loughman was also given a five-year restraining order from his neighbours.

However, Mr Coles believes that his neighbour should have got a stiffer sentence.

He said: ‘I think he should have got six years and done three. That would have been fair.

‘I’m glad he’s been told to keep away from us, but he’s lied in court. We weren’t making any noise at all.’

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