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Pregnant 'getaway driver', 19, found not guilty of arson

Maria CassidyBBC Wales
News imageBBC A stone terraced house with fire damage around the windows and doors, and wooden boards covering them. In front are two cars parked, one is badly fire damaged. BBC
Carol Ford, who was asleep in her home at the time, said she did not know how she escaped the blaze

A 19-year-old woman has been found not guilty of arson after an elderly woman's home was torched as she slept.

Carol Ford, 82, escaped her house in Protheroe Street, Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf, when it was targeted by arsonists.

Storm Truman, from Weston-super-Mare, who was also cleared of recklessness as to whether life was endangered, was pregnant when she was the "getaway driver" on 28 July, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

Connor Pitt, 23, Auryn Guster, 19, and Alfie Wheeler, 19, pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life.

Lewis Manito, 32, pleaded guilty to arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered and perverting the course of justice. They will be sentenced on 10 April.

The prosecution previously told the jury Truman was a "getaway driver" for the men, adding she was "just as responsible".

The court previously heard how 82-year-old Ford's home was targeted by arsonists over a relative's drug debts.

A witness statement by Ford, read to the jury, said she had been asleep in a downstairs room when she heard a loud bang, and saw that her blinds were on fire.

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

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

Marian Lewis, prosecuting, 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.

News imageFire fighters seen from behind in brown uniform with fire/tan written on the back, one drinking water from a bottle and looking at burnt out terraced house with blackened windows and brickwork
Five properties were affected by the blaze in July

Truman told the court Wheeler had asked her to drive him and the other men on 27 July, adding it was to "brick through a window locally".

Truman told the jury she did not want to do it, but that Wheeler was texting to say it would be £500 each and if they did not agree "they'll get someone else to do it".

Truman said she texted saying "sort someone else out", but told the court she was "frightened" for Wheeler's safety if she did not drive as he had been stabbed months earlier.

When the group arrived at Protheroe Street, the court was told the men got out of the car and retrieved items from the boot, but Truman said she did not know what they took before they walked away.

"The next thing I saw was fire coming out of the house and them running back to the car," she told the court.

Truman described the situation as "chaotic" and said the men were shouting "drive, drive quickly". She told the court she felt a range of emotions because she was pregnant at the time.