Son blows up childhood home after mistakenly thinking he had been left out of will

A man who destroyed his childhood home in a devastating explosion fuelled by an inheritance dispute with his brother has been sentenced to four years and four months behind bars.

Darren Davies, 55, deliberately ignited the four-bedroom detached bungalow in the Lancashire village of Hambleton after convincing himself that his sibling Craig was conspiring to cheat him out of his share.

The property was valued at £260,000.

The brothers had been living together in the property on Carr Lane following the death of their parents in 2024.

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Davies had previously entered a guilty plea to arson while reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Residents on Carr Lane heard a powerful blast as glass and wreckage were hurled from the property on March 27, 2025.

Davies walked out from the side of the building without a scratch on him, telling a passer-by: "My family want the house. If I can't have it, no-one can."

He also informed neighbours, police officers and paramedics that he had intended to take his own life.

Prosecutor Michael O'Brien told the court that fire crews contained the blaze before it reached neighbouring homes.

Inside the bungalow, investigators discovered three gas cylinders positioned in the kitchen, front living room and a front bedroom, with petrol stored in the loft and a candle that had been lit.

In his victim personal statement, Craig Davies explained that their parents had drawn up wills granting each brother an equal share of the bungalow.

He told the court he had raised the prospect of selling up so the pair could "go our separate ways," though he made clear this "would not happen straightaway."

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Craig described how, in early 2025, his brother became fixated on the notion that their father had signed a secret will during his final months, leaving the entire property to Craig alone.

Craig told the court: "This was a notion entirely of his making. He continually accused me of being part of a plot against him."

The court heard that Davies had a lengthy history of mental health difficulties, having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety and autism spectrum disorder.

A psychiatric assessment commissioned by the defence determined he was mentally unwell when he started the fire, overwhelmed by what was described as an "autism crisis."

Davies wrote to the judge expressing remorse towards his brother, his wider family, the neighbours he endangered and the Hambleton community.

His barrister Neil Ronan said the loss of his parents had been a "devastating blow" for a man who had spent years working in the music industry touring with bands before moving into telesales.

Ronan added that his client had made "massive progress" since receiving psychiatric care in custody.

Judge Parry acknowledged it was "a sad and serious case" but noted Davies's early guilty plea and that his culpability was "substantially reduced by your mental disorder."

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