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Craig Finn says he has trust issues after the incident (Picture: North News)

A man who set fire to his friend as part of a prank which left him with burns so severe that he lost his left leg has been jailed for more than five years.

Craig Finn, 25, was having house warming drinks at his new home in Spennymoor, County Durham, when the incident unfolded.

After he fell asleep he was torched by his friend of ten years James Gillibrand, in a prank which was described as going ‘horribly wrong’.


Durham Crown Court heard Gillibrand, 25, poured 200ml of turpentine fluid onto his legs, who had fallen asleep on the bathroom floor, before igniting kitchen roll with a cigarette lighter and setting him on fire.



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James Gillibrand (Picture: North News)

He was in hospital for months (Picture: North News)

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Prosecutor Richard Bennett said the defendant then took two pictures of his friend’s badly burnt body before shutting the door of the bathroom and leaving him inside.

He said: ‘There was no bad blood or malice between the complainant and the defendant. The crown’s view has always been that this was a prank that went horribly wrong.

‘When the complainant woke in hospital he recalled he had needed to go to the toilet. The last thing he recalls is passing out on the bathroom floor.’

The labourer clung to life in hospital after suffering around 70 per cent third degree burns across his lower body which resulted in his left leg being amputated. He also suffered minor burns to his arms and face.

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Craig had to have his leg amputated below the knee (Picture: North News)

He was not discharged until April, three months after the incident.

In a victim impact statement, Craig said: ‘I still can’t sleep at night as I am scared to go to sleep because of the bad dreams I suffer from. I dream about being set on fire and I have the fear of dying.

‘I have problems with trust, James was a good friend who I always stuck by, even when he fell out with others.

‘In the future, if I was to have children of my own, I worry that I would not be able to look after them because of my injury.

‘My life has changed forever. Every morning I have to wake up and put my leg on.’