A THIRD of the 12 incidents where people were convicted of offences involving arson following investigations by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in the year to April occurred in Bradford, a new report has revealed.

An update on the number of successful completed prosecutions went before members of the authority’s Community Safety Committee along with details of the subsequent sentences handed out.

The four incidents in Bradford between April 2015 and 2016 were matched by the number in both the Wakefield and Kirklees districts.

The cases highlighted in the report included that of John White, 56, of Ladbroke Grove, Holme Wood, who was jailed for two years in March for putting table tennis balls wrapped in hot tin foil through the letterbox of a neighbouring couple.

Also mentioned was the case of Wojciesk Zychal, 42, of Clive Terrace, Horton Grange, who forced patients to be evacuated after deliberately starting a fire in a bathroom at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

He received a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and a two-year supervision order.

Overall, the 12 convictions led to prison sentences totalling 38 years and six months.

The committee also heard progress reports on the WYFRS 2016/17 action plans and their progress against pre-determined performance targets. Across West Yorkshire, crews were working towards limiting the number of arson attacks to 5,758 incidents, but the total for 2016/17 so far is already 2,809.

The projected end of year figure of 6,676 is up 15.9 per cent against the average of the previous three years.

Across the Bradford district, the number of arson attacks so far in 2016/17 is 868, against a whole-year target of 1,736.

An end of year projection of 2,063 incidents would be 18.8 per cent up on the three-year average figure.

The report states: “At 868 incidents, arson is 18.8 per cent worse than the target for the year so far. However, arson fires are slightly down on the same period last year.

“We are confident we will be able to reduce the rate so that the figure for arson fires is closer to the target by the year end. It is worth noting that approximately 75 per cent of arson incidents across Bradford are secondary fires, with 460 of these incidents being rubbish fires.”

Ian Bitcon, fire safety manager for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said he still expected to achieve or come close to the target figure by the end of the year.

"Any arson incident is a big deal, but the figures include all deliberate fires, two-thirds of which are nuisance incidents involving anti-social behaviour. The figures peak between April and November, and the reality is that trey typically drop off between December and March. That figure will be on target, or just over, by the end of the year.”

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