Two men who firebombed a Wigan flat with people inside have been jailed for a total of 22 years

It was in the early hours of March 21 last year that police were called to Ormskirk Road, Pemberton, to the sight of flames billowing from a home above the Cartridge World shop on Ormskirk Road, Pemberton.

As firefighters tackled the inferno and rescued Kerry Monks and Ryan McCormick by putting a ladder up to the window they had smashed and were desperately hanging out of, their suspicions about the’s cause soon turned to third party involvement.

Having taken over the case to understand the circumstances of how the fire started, officers from Wigan CID were able to present evidence to the court that proved former Pemberton man

Teejay Logsdon, 29, more recently of Whitworth Street, Manchester, and Bradley Finch, 20 of Hampden Place, Marsh Green, were the people the occupants of the flat had heard kicking at the rear door, trying to get in.

Unsuccessful, the pair went to the nearby petrol station where Finch was caught on CCTV filling up a canister.

After what was thought to be a dispute with the occupants of the flat, arsonists Logsdon and Finch poured the fuel over the rear door and through a window before setting it alight and running away.

Fortunately, the victims escaped unscathed.

The very same canister that was seen in the hands of Finch was found once the flames were put out but despite that and other forensic evidence linking them both to the crime, they denied the offence.

For Logsdon, however, things were only about to get worse.

When officers searched his mobile phone as part of their routine inquiries, they found he was involved in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine.

After a three-week trial at Bolton Crown Court, Logsdon was found guilty of arson being reckless whether life was endangered. He had already pleaded guilty to theft, which relates to offences he committed whilst wanted by police, and being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and was jailed for a total of 15 years.

Finch was found guilty of arson being reckless to whether life was endangered. He was sentenced to seven years behind bars.

A third man, 33-year-old Paul Lowe, of City Road, Kitt Green, walked free after he was cleared of arson being reckless to whether life was endangered.

Det Con Pete Jackson of GMP’s Wigan District, said: “By the damage that these two individuals caused, it’s clear they had no care for anyone they may have harmed in committing the crime.

“This was not a crime of passion. It required thought, intent and planning. Something which, with the mounting evidence against them, they had no room to deny.

“With the flat being above a commercial property and close by to other residential properties, the outcome of this could have been absolutely devastating but thankfully, everyone was evacuated safely.”