Nov 24, 2007Quickie Link: Homophobic Neighbour Set Fires in Gay Couple’s Flat
By vanrozenheim
(UK) - A straight man who set fire to his neighbour’s flat in an allegedly homophobic attack was yesterday locked up indefinitely. A court heard how Alan Pollitt went to the nearby Rhyl flat of a Gay couple who had been together for 18 years, and threatened one of the men with a metal bar. The victim then left the property seeking his partner to tell him what had occurred. The couple went for a drink to discuss the matter and while the flat was empty, Pollitt broke in and started five fires. Karen Mullin, prosecuting, said Pollitt, who had a previous conviction for arson following a similar incident in Preston, later told how he planned to kill one or both of his neighbours. He expressed no remorse for his actions. Miss Mullin said that from the comment he made, it was the Crown case that his motives were based on hostility to their sexual orientation.
