Men laughed as they torched elderly woman's home, court told

Men were heard laughing as an 82-year-old woman's home was "deliberately set alight" while she slept, a jury has heard.

Carol Ford's home in Protheroe Street, Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was targeted by arsonists in the early hours of 28 July 2025 over a relative's drug debts, Cardiff Crown Court was told.

In a witness statement, a neighbour said he had heard "male voices laughing" outside, minutes before he noticed the fire.

Four men have pleaded guilty to offences relating to the incident, but one female defendant, Storm Truman, 19, denies an arson charge against her.

Opening the prosecution case against Truman, Marian Lewis KC told the jury that the incident was not an "accident".

The men had been responsible for starting the fire, she said, but Truman's role had been as "an accessory... to drive them away when the offence had been committed".

Lewis said Truman had "aided and abetted the culprits to commit this offence by being their driver and getaway driver, and so is just as responsible".

Connor Pitt, 23, Auryn Guster, 19, and Alfie Wheeler, 18, of Weston-super-Mare, have admitted to arson with intent to endanger life.

Another man, Lewis Manito, 32, has already pleaded guilty to arson and being reckless as to whether life was endangered, and of perverting the course of justice.

A witness statement by Carol Ford, who lived alone at the property, was read to the jury.

She said she had been asleep in a downstairs room when she heard a loud bang, and saw that her blinds were on fire.

"I am extremely immobile due to health issues," she said.

"How I managed to get out of the house, I will never know."

She said that during her exit it "sounded like a load of fireworks going off" and after fleeing barefoot to the back garden, she looked back to see her "kitchen window being blown away by the flames".

She added that had she been sleeping upstairs, she "would not have survived the fire".

The jury was shown images of the damage to the house, as well as neighbouring properties and three vehicles in the street.

Lewis said "threats had been made to a family member" of the person living at the address, due to a "significant drugs debt to an organised crime gang".

Investigations showed the fire had been started near the front window and door of the house, and plastic containers resembling petrol cans were later found nearby, the court heard.

Two police officers gave evidence to the court, with one saying he arrived at the scene to see "a property engulfed in flames", and activated his car's siren in order to wake residents and help them evacuate.

Another officer said she had helped Ford and other neighbours escape from their back gardens, describing the heat from the blaze as "extremely intense".

Lewis said police and firefighters had arrived quickly at the scene, and officers then identified a vehicle suspected to have travelled from Weston-super-Mare to Ferndale.

Number plate recognition cameras later helped officers stop the vehicle as it travelled back towards Cardiff, and Truman was identified as the driver and the owner.

A search of the car found a machete, hammer, black gloves, balaclava, while one passenger's clothing "was damp and smelled of petrol".

An arresting officer also examined the car's satnav system, finding the address on Protheroe Street in Ferndale in its search history.

In a statement given to police, Truman "accepted being the driver" but denied knowledge of the incident and said the purpose of the journey had been "contrary to what she had been told".

She denies a charge of arson and being reckless to whether life was endangered.

The trial continues.