On July 26, John and Gina Richardson were awakened by the sound of someone banging on their door and warning them that their bungalow was on fire.After helping the elderly couple out of their Nottinghamshire, U.K. home, 19-year old Ben Welbourn then rushed back inside to save their dog. Although the blaze had largely destroyed their home, they were grateful to Welbourn for saving their lives and even posed with him afterward for pictures that were prominently displayed in the local newspaper. The Richardsons' daughter publicly thanked Ben Welbourn for saving her parents' live. Two weeks later, on August 8, a second fire began at the home of 89-year old Faye Florio. Once again, Ben Welbourn was on the scene to help the frightened woman out of her burning home and to accept praise for his courage. This time however, a sharp-eyed neighbour recognized Welbourn from his previous rescue and contacted the fire service.
After an investigation, Ben Welbourn was arrested and charged with two counts of arson and reckless endangerment. Pleading guilty in a Nottinghamshire court, he was sentenced to four years in prison. The revelation that Ben Welbourn was responsible for both fires left his victims devastated. The Richardsons, who had lost all their personal belongings in the fire, were especially vocal and Gina Richardson stated that, " I feel terrible. I feel he has taken everything away from me. Everything in that home was very precious."
In handing down his decision, Judge Michael Stokes informed Welbourn that, "'I'm prepared to accept that on the first occasion you probably didn't appreciate the unpredictability of what you were doing and you no doubt were taken aback by the way the fire spread. There can be no such explanation for your conduct on the second occasion." Although Welbourn is not considered to be mentally ill, Judge Stokes advised him to seek treatment for his psychological problems.
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