Sunderland arsonist made life hell for neighbours with campaign of harassment

An arsonist who made life hell for his neighbours during a campaign of harassment has been put behind bars.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Gary Welsh, 43, was already subject to a restraining order against the adjoining couple when he started a fire in his garden which damaged their conservatory.

Newcastle Crown Court heard he first breached the order in May 2020 when he began banging and shouting through the walls of the properties on Rushford, in Ryhope, Sunderland.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Prosecutor Nick Lane said: "All matters reflect a rather unhappy relationship between the defendant and his neighbours.

Gary Welsh.Gary Welsh.
Gary Welsh.

"The order stated the defendant was prohibited from contacting them directly or indirectly.

"The prosecution submit the defendant's behaviour is in contravention of the restraining order.

"On the 31st of May, after the complainant's husband left for work she decided to go to bed at half-past ten.

"While she was in bed she heard the defendant shouting and banging on the adjoining wall: 'I'll ******* burn your house down' and this was followed by further banging."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Lane said that the noise continued into the next day when the husband was in bed after returning home from his nightshift.

The court heard that later on in the day the neighbours found a green petrol can outside in the alleyway which was full and could be traced to Welsh.

He was also found to have caused damage to his own property by tampering with the gas and electricity supply.

He was subsequently arrested but the following month was causing trouble again when he set fire to some plastic in his back garden.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Lane added: "The neighbour went away and on his return he noticed the fence between his and the defendant's was ablaze, which was very close to his conservatory.

"He took steps himself to extinguish the fire with his garden hose."

However, the conservatory did end up damaged to the value of £340 whilst the cost to repair the fence was £200.

Welsh was arrested and released on bail but less than five months later was causing a nuisance again by kicking the back door of his other neighbour, which he did throughout the day before he could be located by officers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The court heard just two days later Welsh was caught loitering outside the same neighbour's home before he smashed their CCTV system with a golf club which resulted in £250 worth of damage.

He also caused more trouble the following February by banging and smashing the rear windows of his own rented home.

One of the tormented neighbours said in a victim impact statement that she had lived at the home for 12 years with her husband, but knew Welsh was a problem as soon as she met him.

Welsh, now of no fixed abode, admitted breaching his restraining order, arson, criminal damage, using threatening words or behaviour and failing to surrender to court.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Helen Towers, mitigating, told the court Welsh had already spent ten months in custody and deserved credit for his pleas.

Judge Rodney Jameson QC told him: "You have shown a degree of self awareness now you are no longer subject to taking vast amounts of drugs and alcohol.

"The down side is over a period of 12 months you committed a substantial number of offences."

The judge sentenced Welsh to two-and-a-half years behind bars and imposed a further restraining order of five years.

He added: "I hope things will get better for you when you're released but that depends on you."