A man showed up as a van repossessed his home with a can of petrol (Picture: Movecorp / SWNS)

A bankrupt man set fire to his own belongings in a £35,000 removal van – then stood drinking a cup of tea as he waited for the police to arrive.

John Cartwright, 65, has been told by a judge that he faces a long prison sentence after exploding into a fit of rage while having his property repossessed on February 15.

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A court heard that he poured petrol into the back of the van in broad daylight outside his St Dennis, Cornwall, home, and destroyed some of his own belongings in the process, saying: ‘If I can’t have my stuff, no-one can.’

Defence barrister Chris Nicholls suggested to Judge Robert Linford that a suspended prison sentence might be appropriate.




But Judge Linford replied: ‘I’m a mile away from a suspended sentence.’

John Cartwright waited for the police with a cup of tea (Picture: Cornwall Live / SWNS)

The Movecorp workers were left in shock (Picture: Cornwall Live / SWNS)

He added: ‘This is a very serious case indeed, and an extremely serious and worrying offence. He is looking down the barrel of a very long prison sentence.’

Judge Linford then adjourned the case for a pre-sentencing report.

Cartwright was arrested and charged with one count of arson, to which he pleaded guilty at Truro Crown Court on Friday.

The van, which belonged to international removals company Movecorp, was written off at a loss of £34,874.

Prosecution barrister Katie Churcher told the court that Movecorp would be seeking compensation from Cartwright.

The van was worth £35,000 (Picture: Movecorp / SWNS)

Movecorp would be seeking compensation from Cartwright (Picture: Movecorp / SWNS)

And the company’s managing director, James Tennant, said his four staff were so shaken by the incident that they were given a day off to recover.

At the time of the incident, Mr Tennant said: ‘We were contracted on behalf of John Cartwright’s trustees to remove all items from the property after it had been repossessed after a bankruptcy hearing.

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‘Whilst the crew started loading the truck with goods, the bankrupt poured petrol all over the truck and proceeded to set fire to the truck and contents whilst in a fit of rage and anger.

‘The value of contents is unknown but the truck is a total write off with a value of £35,000.’

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