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Men jailed after arson attack at block of flats

Maisie LillywhiteGloucestershire
Gloucestershire Constabulary Two mugshots of men wearing grey T-shirts and standing against a grey background. On the left is a man with receding dark brown greying hair, a large nose, and quite a thick neck, and on the right is a skinnier, older man with grey hair and a wrinklier face. They are both straight faced.Gloucestershire Constabulary
Some residents have been unable to return to their homes nine months after Kenneth Moore and John Johnstone deliberately started the fire

Two men have been jailed after deliberately starting a fire at a block of flats which resulted in two people being taken to hospital.

Kenneth Moore and John Johnstone started the fire using an accelerant in the hallway of a block of flats on Bedford Street, Gloucester, on 30 June 2025.

50-year-old Moore, formerly of Bedford Street, was found guilty by a jury in December, with Johnstone, 57, of no fixed abode, pleading guilty ahead of his trial after initially denying the offence.

Moore was sentenced to seven years in prison and Johnstone jailed for five years and two months at Swindon Crown Court on Tuesday.

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The court heard Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service called police at about 10:00 BST on the day of the fire after they believed it had been started deliberately.

Residents were evacuated while the fire was extinguished, with two people taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation before later being discharged.

Numerous flats and their contents were damaged by the fire, which the fire service confirmed was started using an accelerant.

As a result, a number of residents were also moved to temporary accommodation, with some flats still uninhabitable.

Google An aged block of flats of about three storeys on a side road in a city centre. The building is of brown brick and brown windows. Cars are parked on the road leading up to a T-junction, where there are terraced houses. It is a mostly cloudy day with a small patch of blue sky.Google
The fire took place on Bedford Street in Gloucester

Moore and Johnstone were later arrested by Gloucestershire Police on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, offences they both denied.

The duo were subsequently charged and remanded into custody.

Sentencing the pair, His Honour Judge James Townsend said the significant degree of planning, the use of an accelerant and the multiple people who were endangered were aggravating factors that would be taken into account.

'Reckless behaviour'

Sentencing Moore, Townsend said: "You are the mind behind all of this; you do represent a significant risk of causing serious harm to others in the future.

Johnstone was told by Townsend his role was "lesser" but he had "plenty of time to think twice and retreat from it".

Trainee Det Con Dewar, investigating officer, said although nobody was seriously injured in Moore and Johnstone's arson attack, "it could have easily led to multiple fatalities".

Describing Moore and Johnstone's behaviour as "reckless", Dewar said: "I hope their sentence serves as a message to them, and anyone else who involves themselves in dangerous, criminal behaviour that could cost lives," Dewar added.

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