His friend had a minor grudge with her neighbour... his act of revenge was devastating

A man who set fire to a mum’s house in ‘revenge’ for his friend later told his pal: “You’ll never guess what I’ve done!”

After learning that his friend had a ‘minor hostility’ towards the woman, Phillip Humphrey, 41, went round to the woman’s home in Rochdale and smashed a number of her windows. He left and returned again, causing damage before entering the house and disturbing the property inside.

He left again and returned for a third time armed with a lighter, and set the house ablaze. Neighbours were forced to flee, with ten homes in total being evacuated in the early hours of the morning in November last year.

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Humphrey, of Rochdale, later pleaded guilty to arson and criminal damage and was jailed for five years.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Humphrey’s friend had contacted the police in 2023 to make a complaint about the woman. Their homes backed onto each other, and their children would play together.

“The complaint went nowhere, but at some point the defendant became aware of her [his friend's] complaint,” prosecutor Laura Broome said.

On November 16 last year, Humphrey, his friend, and others were drinking in Rochdale town centre before going back to her house. Conversation moved to the woman who lived across from them before Humphrey left, stating he was meeting his nephew.

“The defendant was seen on CCTV to arrive outside [the victim’s] house on Oldham Road at 12.45am with another male before they started throwing objects at the house,” Ms Groome said. The victim and her children were at home at the time, she added.

“She heard banging and heard her windows being smashed, grabbed her children and went into the downstairs bedroom. They were frightened to leave and the children were described as being in distress,” the prosecutor said.

Humphrey and the male then left and the woman fled with her children. He returned to his friend's house, stating he had ‘put her windows through’ and said he wanted to show her.

Both went back to the house at 2.53am, during which Humphrey began punching and kicking the door and throwing missiles, whilst the woman picked up a scooter and launched it at an already broken window.

She has since pleaded guilty to criminal damage and was jailed for four years in January this year.

They both then walked in through the front door of the woman’s home and began to damage her items including pulling her fridge over.

Humphrey and the woman left and she went to sleep whilst Humphrey returned to the house for a third time, but wearing different clothes, the court heard.

“He was seen on CCTV entering the property at 3.45am through the front door before five minutes later, smoke began emanating from the first floor window,” Ms Groome said.

“Seconds later he left by the front door and climbed over the garden wall.”

'You'll never guess what I've done'

Neighbours on the adjoining house heard the disturbance and initially thought it was being burgled, before they heard a male shouting: “Help, help, fire!”

Smoke then began to pour into their home and they called the police. She had to wake her husband and help him out due to a knee problem, it was said.

Emergency services arrived promptly, and whilst nobody was injured in the blaze, the neighbours were left outside their home for a number of hours.

The home was left with extreme damage, to the point that the fire service were unable to find the point of origin.

Humphrey returned to his friend’s house and woke her by shouting: “You’ll never guess what I have done, Oldham Road is closed off… set it on fire…set it on fire!”

He was described as being ‘steaming drunk’ and looking like he was having ‘some form of mental breakdown’. The following day his friend confronted him after seeing media reports about the fire, and later he tried to blame her to the cops. He also told officers he had been drinking litres of vodka at the time.

“This left me feeling scared and my children are so scared they cannot sleep,” the victim said in a statement.

“My children keep asking why somebody was trying to kill us. I don’t want to leave our hotel and I don’t want to go outside - I don’t want to go back to that house. We could have been killed.”

Mitigating, Emma Clarke said: “He says this was the biggest mistake of his life and he does not know what possessed him. He wishes to offer his sincere remorse and his bitter regret.

“He said this offence haunts him everyday and he suffers flashbacks everytime he lies down.

“He instructed me that he feels guilty for feeling this way, and that if he is feeling this way he can only imagine how the family are feeling.”

Ms Clarke said her client had struggled with alcohol and substance issues as well as mental health problems following the loss of his brother. She also said he had been suffering with undiagnosed ADHD at the time.

In sentencing, Judge Tina Landale told Humphrey: “The background to all of this comes from some minor hostility between your friend and the occupier of the house. That property had been her home for quite some time and she lived there with her two young children.

“To describe the damage caused as ‘severe’ underestimates it. Photos show her home was completely destroyed. The neighbour’s home was damaged by the fire as well. This was a revenge attack and multiple people were endangered.”

Humphrey, of Birch Road, was jailed for five years of which he will serve half in prison before being released on licence.

'The fire devastated the property leaving it uninhabitable'

After the sentencing, Detective Constable Russ Clarke of Rochdale CID said: "The family who lived at this property have lost everything they own, their clothes and all their belongings, including items of significant sentimental value. The fire devastated the property leaving it uninhabitable.

"The smashing of the windows whilst this family were present caused them severe distress, with the occupant and children believing that somebody was coming inside to harm them. It caused such distress that they decided to leave the property for the night and stay elsewhere in case those responsible returned.

“Humphrey returned twice more, to carry out what can only be described as pre-meditated acts of violence, solely designed to cause terror upon the young family.

“Humphrey evaded the police for over two months before finally being arrested. During his interview, Humphrey denied setting the fire and sought to implicate others, taking no responsibility for his actions. It was only when further evidence was gathered that Humphrey accepted his full involvement and pleaded guilty.

“The impact on this family has been immeasurable and this is clear within the victim impact statement read out at court. They remain homeless and are faced with rebuilding their lives once more. I hope that the conviction of Humphrey provides them with some level of comfort in what continues to be a very difficult time for them.”