He set fire to Christmas decorations in the foyer of the hostel
A day after being released from prison, a Cambridge man set fire to a youth hostel foyer, sending him back to jail. The convict had threatened to smash the door down and petrol bomb the centre when he was refused entry.
Nigel Hensby, 27, was released from prison after possessing a knife and a public order offence. After serving time for those offenses, he set fire to Christmas decorations in the foyer of a youth hostel. Hensby threatened the staff member after being denied entry in the building to get a mobile phone from a former partner.
In a ‘fit of rage’ Hensby went to the Cambridge Youth Foyer, in Rustat Close, on December 5 last year. He demanded to see his former partner to get a mobile phone back, but he was refused entry by a member of staff.
Hensby threatened to smash the door down and petrol bomb the building and the staff member hid in an office and called the police. When she checked the reception area, Hensby had set fire to some Christmas decorations with a lighter and run off.
Police say that no one was hurt in the fire, but lives were put at risk. Hensby was arrested in Station Road, Cambridge, at about 9.40pm, shortly after the incident, and admitted to the officer he had started the fire.
On Tuesday (March 10), at Peterborough Crown Court, Hensby, of Drayton Road, Norwich, was jailed for two years. At an earlier hearing, he also pleaded guilty to arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.
DC Becky Bertozzi-Wilson, who investigated, said: “Hensby deliberately set fire to a foyer in a building with vulnerable people inside, putting their lives and staff members lives at risk, simply because staff would rightly, not allow him access. The consequences of his actions could have been fatal.”

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