A DRUNKEN man who poured petrol “willy-nilly” over cars parked in a Bradford street and then set them on fire has been jailed for three years.

Michael O’Reilly, 35, caused more than £21,000 of damage in writing off two cars belonging to one owner, also targeting several other vehicles in his spree of arson attacks on December 21 last year.

When arrested by police, he said his actions had been “just a joke”.

Prosecutor Philip Adams told Bradford Crown Court that O’Reilly had been seen at around 4pm on the day of his offending walking down Harrogate Road in the Greengates area of the city with a jerry can full of petrol.

He was seen to pour the liquid onto the boots of two cars before setting them alight, but the fires burned out “within seconds”.

Mr Adams said that O’Reilly then moved onto Orchard Grove, where he targeted a Volkswagen Passat and Transporter van belonging to Michael Johnson.

After seeing the vehicles on fire, the court heard that Mr Johnson ran outside his house to try and move the Passat to stop the fire spreading, but both the car and the van were damaged beyond repair.

O’Reilly then crossed the road and unsuccessfully tried to set fire to two other cars, before throwing the jerry can in a garden and getting into a nearby parked car, from which he was then arrested.

Officers said he smelt of alcohol and cannabis, and found he was carrying a lighter.

Ashok Khullar, defending, said father-of-four O’Reilly, of Floyd Road, Preston, Lancashire, was so intoxicated that he had no recollection of his offending.

Mr Khullar said: “He doesn’t remember getting hold of the can or petrol. He is genuinely shocked at the way he behaved.”

O’Reilly pleaded guilty to two offences of arson and one of attempted arson.

Recorder Gurdial Singh said Mr Johnson had “bravely” tried to save his property, which had been destroyed by O’Reilly’s “wanton actions”.

He told him: “You were staggering down the street with a jerry can full of petrol, pouring it willy-nilly over vehicles and doing your best to set them alight.

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“It was a lethal combination, and you’re fortunate not to be here facing much more serious charges.

“You said it was a joke, but you know very well standing here before me that it was anything but. It is not sophisticated criminality, but it is very dangerous.”