Arsonist who torched storage yard in Port Clarence jailed

Dwayne Davis was part of a gang who set fire to a yard on Hope Street, in Port Clarence, at 12.30am on June 2, last year. 

After the blaze, the 29-year-old, of Laurel Road, drove the group to Raleigh Road where he stood and watched a caravan be set alight.

He was identified from CCTV footage through his clothing and trainers.

On Monday (April 20), Davis appeared at Teesside Crown Court where he was sentenced to 10 years and five months for two counts of arson. 

He pleaded not guilty to both offences at an earlier hearing and was convicted during a trial. 

Police were first alerted to the flames at the scrap yard when an on-duty officer spotted the flames and alerted Cleveland Police and Cleveland Fire Brigade. 

The force said it was quickly established that the fires had been ignited deliberately inside the vehicles as well as around various locations in the yard.

An investigation was launched, with officers reviewing CCTV capturing a grey car travelling along Norton Avenue and onto Raleigh Road. The driver of the vehicle was Davis.

Davis could be identified from a small white patch on the pocket of his trousers and white lines on the sides of his trainers.

The court heard how footage captured an individual putting their hand through the back windscreen of a car that had the glass removed and pulling out a green container.

Approximately 20 seconds later it is on fire. Davis, who had been standing watching, then gets back into the vehicle and drives away.

In the early hours of June 2, Davis was arrested at a petrol station on Durham Road. After being taken to custody for interview, he replied no comment to the questions asked by detectives.

Investigating officer Detective Inspector Sarah Beadle said: “Our investigation quickly identified Davis as the driver of the vehicle that travelled to the scrap yard and Raleigh Road to assist others in setting the caravan and the scrap yard alight.

“This was through the CCTV footage that we obtained and reviewed. Davis was identifiable through the clothing he was wearing at the time of the arson, and he could also be seen entering his property in the same clothes. 

“Despite the evidence against Davis, he refused to admit to what he had done however a jury saw through his lies and he will now face the consequences by spending time behind bars.”