What is arson, can you be jailed for deliberately setting fire to property and what are some of the worst cases?

ARSON is the single largest cause of fire in England and Wales and the emotional and financial effects can be devastating for individuals and families affected by a blaze.

But the true cost of setting a fire deliberately can be tragic, with innocent victims losing their lives. Here's what you need to know....

What is arson?

In legal terms, arson is the act of deliberately setting fire to property - including buildings and vehicles.

The crime falls under the Criminal Damage Act 1971, s.1(3).

Depending on how serious the fire is, arson can either be dealt with in a magistrates or crown court.

There are different types of arson.

These are:

• Arson with intent to endanger life
• Arson with intent to cause criminal damage

What is the punishment for arson?

Sentencing varies depending on the type of arson and where the case is dealt with.

Anyone convicted of arson where minor damage was caused will be given a fine and a community order.

But if the arson is more significant or a person died, they could be sentenced to life in prison.

But most defendants will be charged with manslaughter if someone died in the fire.

What are some of the worst cases of arson?

The worst cases include:

• John Thompson, 42, set fire to a building on Denmark Place in central London on August 16 1980 after a row over drinks prices - at least 37 people perished at an illicit drinking den called The Spanish Rooms and a salsa dance club called El Dandy
• The same year arsonist Peter Dinsdale admitted killing more people than the Yorkshire Ripper - 15 in total - who was himself still on his murder spree at that time
• Gordon Thompson, a looter in the 2011 London Riots, was jailed for eleven and a half years for starting a huge fire that destroyed the 140-year-old House of Reeves furniture in Croydon
• Four children were killed in a suspected arson after the perpetrators were accused of pouring a flammable liquid through the letterbox and torching a family home in Salford, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of Monday, December 11, 2017.
• Nottingham train station was engulfed by a fire on Friday, January 12, 2018 with British Transport Police are treating the situation as arson. Sixty firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze which broke out in a block of toilets before spreading to the main concourse and roof.

In 2008, millionaire businessman Christopher Foster shot his wife Jill and teenage daughter Kirstie in the head as they slept in their beds before slaughtering three horses and four dogs.

The 50-year-old then set his sprawling £1.2 million mansion in Maesbrook, Shrops, alight and died of smoke inhalation next to his wife's body.

The flames were so fierce the bodies had to be identified by DNA.

In 1999, Richard Fielding killed seven people in a revenge arson attack.

The fantasist had blamed his schoolfriend for destroying his chances of becoming a famous disc jockey and male model so he poured petrol through his letter box and set the Chingford house on fire.

His friend, his friend's three young children, mother, grandmother and girlfriend died in the fire.

After his arrest, he told police the fire had been "like a game of knock down ginger with a bit more ginger";.

On the night of the fire, Fielding filled up a plastic canister in a petrol station and cycled round the corner to the house.

Asked by the garage attendant if his car had broken down, he replied: "No, I am going to do a house".

Fielding admitted killing Lee Day, 22, his children, twin girls, Maddison and Rhiannon, aged three, and son, Reece, two, his girlfriend, Yvonne Colverhouse, 17, his mother, Sandra Day, 50, and grandmother Kathleen Day, 76.

He was sent indefinitely to Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire under the Mental Health Act.

Who were the Philpotts?

Evil Mick Philpott and his wife Mairead killed their six children in an arson attack gone wrong at their home in Allenton, Derby, in 2012.

Lisa Willis, Philpott’s live-in mistress, had left the family home with her four children a few months earlier, and a custody hearing over the children was scheduled to take place on the morning of the fire.

Warped Mick hatched a plan with Mairead and pal Paul Mosley to incriminate Lisa while posing as a hero who saved his children.

He poured petrol through the letter box of his home as Duwayne, 13, his sister Jade, ten, and brothers, John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six and Jayden, five, slept upstairs and set the house alight.

But the planned rescue went tragically wrong when he was beaten back the flames as the blaze got out of control in seconds.

He was jailed for life in April 2013 for manslaughter, while Mairead and Mosley were each caged for 17 years.

Who is James Ward?

James Ward was given a sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) with a minimum of 10 months to be served for arson in 2006.

But instead of being released less than a year later, Ward has spent 11 years in jail after being handed an IPP because he set fire to his prison bed.

On September 14, the Parole Board announced the 32-year-old, who suffers from mental health problems, is to be released.

He struggled with life in prison and regularly self-harmed during his indefinite sentence.

He has also barricaded himself into his cell and staged dirty protests.