Airman jailed for pounds 19m fire

An airman was jailed for five years for starting a fire which caused pounds 19m damage at an RAF parachute store.

Senior Aircraftman Douglas Bailey, 26, drank 17 pints of beer before the fire at RAF Hullavington, Wiltshire, on 3 January last year, Swindon Crown Court was told.

He kicked in a window to enter the hangar and let in his friend, Cpl Stephen Paterson, 30. The corporal left but Bailey set parachutes alight and returned to start another fire.

Paterson was convicted of aiding an offender by helping destroy Bailey's jeans which were stained with blood from a cut he suffered as he broke in. His sentence was adjourned.