Video shows Walsall man trying to burn down the house of his ex-lover

CCTV footage shows the moment a man tried to burn down the house of his ex-girlfriend

(West Midlands Police)

A man from Walsall is facing 16 years in prison after trying to burn down the home of his former partner.

Gary Griffiths, a resident of Brownhills just outside of Walsall in the West Midlands, was found guilty of attempted murder following a three-day trial in November last year.

The 44-year-old had been in a relationship with a woman at the end of 2013, but when she ended the romance, he grew bitter. When she failed to respond to Griffiths' attempts to rekindle the relationship, he masterminded an attempt to burn her house down.

West Midlands Police released CCTV from March 2014 showing Griffiths buying a canister from a store, filling it with over five litres of petrol and then driving to the home of his former lover on Bloxwich Road in Walsall. He then poured the petrol through her letter box and set it alight.

Investigating officer DC Dave Franks said that Griffiths plan was thankfully thwarted by the uPVC front door which acted as a seal against the fire on the doorstep.

"Had the pool of petrol ignited behind the door," Franks said in a statement, "the outcome could have been far worse and possibly have ended in tragedy.

"The 42-year-old woman in the house had only just moved in and was subjected to a terrifying ordeal. Griffiths continued to taunt her by text after he set the fire, which fortunately alerted her to the blaze and she was able to call for help, which arrived swiftly."

Video courtesy of West Midlands Police.