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Man pleads guilty to arson after vehicles torched

Ben ParkerSuffolk
News imageSteve Martin/BBC A torched car sits between a brick wall and a tree. A police cordon tape stretches across the front of it. The entirety of the car's front has been destroyed while the inside it destroyed and the glass windows blown.Steve Martin/BBC
Five vehicles were set alight in the Gainsborough area of Ipswich

A man has pleaded guilty to arson and intent to endanger life after five vehicles were torched in a town.

Suffolk Police was called by the fire service after a number of vehicles were set alight in the Gainsborough area of Ipswich at 22:50 BST on 25 September.

Simon Loveridge, 31, of Frampton Road in Ipswich, was arrested and pleaded guilty on Monday to five counts of arson, including two with intent to endanger life at Ipswich Crown Court.

He is due to be sentenced on 30 January.

News imageSteve Martin/BBC A flat bed van destroyed in a fire within a car park. It is surrounded by police cordon tape. Burnt rubble and metal surrounds the vehicle on the ground.Steve Martin/BBC
The fire service said no injuries were reported during any of the fires

The vehicles involved included two cars at Piper's Vale Academy school in Raeburn Road, one car near the junction of Landseer Road and Clapgate Lane, as well as a transit van on Landseer Road and a minibus parked at Gainsborough Sports Centre.

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