Macclesfield man jailed after deliberately setting industrial building on fire

A man who purposely caused a fire at a building in Henbury has been jailed.

Christopher Payne, of Hewston Crescent in Macclesfield, was jailed for two years and seven months at Chester Crown Court on Thursday 13th November.

Payne, 40, was handed the sentence after he pleaded guilty to one count of arson.

The court heard that on Thursday 22nd May 2025, officers responded to reports that an unknown man had been seen on video doorbell footage forcibly entering a site office building on an industrial site near to Pepper Street, Henbury.

The man, who would later be revealed as Payne, had been captured on camera donning a balaclava just seconds before smashing his way inside the property.

An officer swiftly attended the scene and found that the front door of the property had been smashed open and that a small fire was burning inside.

Payne was also inside the address and, upon seeing the officer, fled the scene on foot. The officer called for backup and requested colleagues from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service attend the scene to respond to the fire and then pursued Payne.

After a short foot chase the officer detained Payne, who told them he had been inside the address but did not take anything from inside.

Back at the property that Payne fled from, colleagues from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service contained the fire, that had now spread across the building.

Firefighters later confirmed to police colleagues that several fires had been set inside.

Following the fire, the insurance company that covered the building authorised a £500,000 payout to cover the damage that had been caused by the fires.

In custody, Christopher Payne answered “no comment” to all questions put to him. He remained silent when shown the various pieces of video footage that clearly showed him donning a balaclava, forcing his way inside and then fleeing the property upon police arrival.

Payne would initially plead not guilty to the offence of arson, but he would change his plea part-way through his trial in October.

He was also ordered to pay a £228 surcharge on top of his custodial sentence.

Detective Constable Doug Whitfield, who oversaw the case, said:

“I welcome the sentence handed to Christopher Payne and I hope that he uses the next two-plus years behind bars to think about his actions.

“As this case has shown, it is very important to have some form of CCTV or video capture system covering the vicinity of your property. Installing these can be a crucial tool to help you protect your property and deter any would be thieves or, in this case, arsonists.

“It was this video footage that was vital in both police being alerted to the intruder forcing his way into the property and capturing him fleeing from it upon officers’ arrival.”

Pictured - Christopher Payne, of Hewston Crescent in Macclesfield.