Grandfather refuses “hugs” for his wife who burned down his house

The arsonist started the fire after returning home from the pub.

A grandfather responded “why not?” when his daughter asked him why he set fire to his own house. Barry Sarjant came home from the bar and asked his wife for “hugs” but started a fire inside the marital home when she refused.

He then armed himself with a baseball bat to prevent her from putting out the flames, but she disarmed him and hit him in the head with the weapon to escape.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Thursday, that Sarjant and his wife Joanne had been together for around 35 years and had two daughters together, but were in the process of selling their home on Leslie Road in St Helens in late 2023. Their relationship was said to have “begun to deteriorate” in the months leading up to December 28 last year, leading her to end their marriage.

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Prosecutor Michael O’Brien described how the defendant returned home at around 10pm that day, having been drinking. The pair then discussed selling the property in an upstairs bedroom before Sarjant “asked for cuddles”.

The 57-year-old went downstairs after Mrs Sarjant refused, but then “heard a strange noise” and went to the landing to discover a fire had broken out at the bottom of the stairs. She ran into the kitchen to fill a container with water to put out the fire, but found her husband standing in a doorway armed with a baseball bat.

Sarjant pushed her back, causing the liquid to “spilt everywhere”. Ms Sarjant refilled the container and tried to push past her partner, but he pushed her onto a sofa in the living room and stood over her with the gun in his hands before grabbing her by the neck and holding her down and “telling her to behave”.

She “screamed for help in fear of her life” but was able to escape when he grabbed the bat from her and hit her with it, throwing water on the fire, then left the address and called 999. One of the couple’s daughters, who lives opposite her parents, found her father by the front door after being alerted to the incident.

Sarjant was “distraught, intoxicated and bleeding” from a head wound. He then said: “I set the house on fire.” When asked why he did it, he replied: “Why not?” Sarjant then picked up the baseball bat and said: “I was going to hit her on the back of the head.”

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After being told the police had been called, he said: “Yes, but I’ll get away with it.” The fire destroyed a vacuum cleaner, a chest of drawers and several of the father-of-two and grandfather-of-four’s coats, as well as causing smoke damage to the floor, ceiling and carpet.

In the interview, he denied having started the fire deliberately and said it was “an accident.” He also maintained that he had not assaulted Ms Sarjant and said she had attacked him with the baseball bat.

Sarjant has no criminal record. Paul Wood, his defence counsel, told the court: “The fire was extinguished relatively easily and the level of damage to the property was moderate. Things could have been much more serious than they were.”

“This is a very sad case. The defendant had been in a relationship since he was 18. He clearly had a history of anxiety and depression. He was struggling to get over the break-up of a relationship with someone he clearly loved.

“He was having serious difficulties coming to terms with it and turned to alcohol. He tried to get help. He had been feeling suicidal. His relatives had repeatedly taken him to the doctor because they were worried about him. He is ashamed and embarrassed by the risk he caused to others and by his behaviour that night. He knows it is inexcusable.

“This is coming from a man of positive and good character. He is now retired. He worked two jobs to support his family. When he came home from work, no doubt exhausted, he would spend time with his children. He is a caring and loving father and grandfather.

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“He wants to put this horrible episode behind him. He wants to spend time with his grandchildren, who he clearly misses and loves. He has learned a very hard lesson at this stage of his life. He has had the decency to put his hands up and accept what he has done and show remorse.”

Sarjant, wearing a white shirt, black tie and glasses in the dock, admitted starting a fire without regard to the possibility of endangering the lives of the defendants and causing actual bodily harm. His supporters sat tearfully in the public gallery as he was sentenced to three years in prison and given a ten-year restraining order.

Judge Stuart Driver KC, sentencing, said: “You set fire to an area close to the foot of the stairs when your wife was upstairs. Had the fire broken out quickly it would have been a very dangerous situation. In fact the danger remained because when she attempted to put out the fire you assaulted her to prevent her from putting it out.

“You had a good character in the past. You were struggling with very serious mental health issues, in the form of depression, which were made worse by your alcohol abuse. You were struggling to cope with the end of your relationship, which had lasted your entire adult life. The references speak very highly of a better side to your personality.”