Two men who caused a major fire and mass evacuation have been sentenced

Two men who pleaded guilty to setting fire to a former print works in Crewe during the summer disorder, causing widespread disruption and displacing hundreds of residents, have been sentenced.

James Evans, 19, and Justin Keeling, formerly Evans, 18, both of no fixed address pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered at an earlier hearing. Keeling also admitted to perverting the course of justice.

They appeared at Chester Crown Court on 21 May for sentencing. Evans was sentenced to 56 months in prison and Keeling was sentenced to 52 months in prison for arson and an extra 238 days in prison for perverting the course of justice - to run consecutively.

The disused industrial premises targeted by the men is located on the junction of Catherine Street and Frances Street in Crewe town centre and is surrounded by a number of terraced houses.

The two entered the building on the afternoon of Friday 9 August and set fire to a large pile of cardboard.

The fire quickly set hold significantly and it was declared a major incident. A large-scale evacuation of five streets was undertaken, while firefighters from all over the county descended on the compact terraced streets of the town and remained on scene for several days.

Residents were displaced to leisure centres, or friends and family, while firefighters fought to put out the fire.

More than 350 people were affected by the evacuation as their homes were at risk, in fact some houses were damaged as a result of the fire.

When officers arrived to manage the crowds and put cordons in place, Keeling was in the crowd of onlookers. He laughed at police and swore at them. He was told to move away and he shouted for people to riot.

The media descended on the chaotic scenes and interviewed residents about their plight. Justin Keeling, formerly Evans, despite being one of the two men who had caused the devastation, had the audacity to do an interview with the BBC.

The excerpt from the article read:

Justin Evans, of Catherine Street, said he had been left devastated, shocked, confused and annoyed by the incident.

He said.

“I had to move out on Friday night along with other residents on Catherine Street because the flames were that big,”

He added:

“All the businesses stuck together and they helped deliver food to everyone which was great, it’s great to see in a crisis everyone worked together.”

He also said he would now have to get his house deep cleaned to get rid of lingering smoke particles.

Two days later when police visited Keeling at home while doing door to door enquiries, he said he saw the fire when he was walking back to Catherine Street with Evans. He claimed to have seen some youths near the building, climbing over a gate onto Bedford Street.

As a result, further enquiries led to a 12-year-old boy being arrested. But he was later released without charge.

Keeling then admitted to a friend that he was inside the building and police were informed. He was arrested and then released on bail. Days later a video filmed by him was discovered on his seized mobile phone by police.

The footage filmed inside showed a large amount of cardboard in there - one pile could be seen alight. As the phone panned round more piles of cardboard could be seen on fire.

As a result, the men were arrested that day on suspicion of arson being reckless to endanger life. Despite the video evidence they still denied the offence, though Keeling later admitted to perverting the course of justice for deceiving police with the false sighting of the youths.

DS Ryan Ogden said:

“The devastation caused to the community and the sheer scale of the emergency response, and council clean up afterwards was huge and very labour intensive.

“Residents are still affected by the fire as are some officers who attended the chaotic scene.

"I welcome the sentence that has been handed to them and hope that they begin to realise the enormity of their actions that day.”

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Steve Barnes, of Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, said:

"This deliberate fire in Crewe put lives at risk, not only those of our firefighters but also the residents who were forced to leave their homes. It caused significant damage, disruption, and distress, and placed enormous pressure on our resources for days. We hope this sentencing sends a clear message that deliberate fire setting on any scale will not be tolerated."

Pictured - Justin Keeling, formerly Evans.