The house of a man waiting to be sentenced for possessing indecent images of children has been set on fire.
Peter Leyland, 37, of Brunswick Street, Bingley, was not in the end terrace house at the time of the attack which took place at 1.46am today.
Leading firefighter John Pittock said the arsonists had trashed the house after breaking in through a rear window.
He said: "A telephone call from neighbours alerted us and we were there within five minutes, along with a crew from Shipley. We had to use special tools to smash the door down to gain entry.
"The fire was well alight and what really annoys me is that whoever did this recklessly put firefighters' lives at risk through having to verify that no-one was in the house. The lounge was gutted and the staircase is now down to bare brick after the plaster was burnt off.''
Leyland appeared at Bingley Magistrates' Court two weeks ago where he pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children on a pair of identical CD Roms.
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