Woman set fire to workplace on Christmas Day after being sacked

Rose Marie Fenwick also twice superglued the locks of the property firm

The 64-year-old had worked at the company which is based in Finchley for six years before she was dismissed ( SWNS.com)

A woman set fire to her workplace on Christmas Day after being sacked from a London property firm.

Rose Marie Fenwick injured a security guard when she set fire to the Estates & Management building, where she worked as an administrator.

The 64-year-old worked at the company, which is based in Finchley, for six years before she was dismissed, and was also found to have twice superglued the locks.

The disgruntled employee has now been imprisoned for 20 months after CCTV footage of the incident showed her distinctive style of walking.

Ms Fenwick, of Finchley in north London, was also seen wearing a jacket which police found when they carried out a search of her house.

"Fenwick's personal vendetta against her former employer led to her committing offences that not only caused a nuisance but also instilled a sense of fear amongst staff who became concerned about their safety at work,” Cynthia Caiquo, a senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said.

"Fenwick was identified using CCTV footage which included her distinctive walking style and the jacket she was wearing, which was seized by police after a search of her home.

"The strong prosecution case against Fenwick meant that she had no choice but to plead guilty.”

Prosecutors said Ms Fenwick was sacked by Estates & Management in 2016 after six years.

Around three months afterwards, in July, she started a fire at the office at around 2am by using a "liquid accelerant" and newspaper pushed through the letterbox.

The following year in March she damaged the company’s front door by putting superglue in the locks one evening.

On Christmas Day, 25 December, 2017, she started another fire at her old office. It caused minor burns to the security guard’s hair and fingers as he attempted to escape the building from the front door which was the only exit.

Ms Fenwick was sentenced for two counts of arson and one count of criminal damage at Harrow Crown Court on Tuesday. She had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at the same court.

"The court made an order restraining her from going anywhere near her former workplace,” Ms Caiquo added.

"I hope this conviction and sentence gives employers the confidence they need to report crimes against them.”

Additional reporting by SWNS