Mixenden: Man found guilty of school and library arsons

A 20-year-old man has been found guilty of arson attacks on a primary school and a library in West Yorkshire.

Aaron Foster started a blaze which engulfed the Ash Green primary school in Mixenden, Halifax, in February, causing £4.5m of damage.

On the night of the fire he phoned 999 from inside the school claiming to be stuck and blamed others for the blaze.

At Bradford Crown Court, Foster, of Stanningley Drive, Mixenden, was convicted of two counts of arson.

Foster caused £180,000 worth of damage to Mixenden Library when it was set alight in August 2020.

The jury heard evidence from a woman who saw Foster smash a window at the library and climb in minutes before she saw flames flickering inside.

During his trial, the jury was also shown CCTV footage of Foster breaking into the primary school on 1 February.

On the footage, he is seen walking around the school using the torch function on his mobile phone and carrying a lit cigarette.

Prosecutor Camille Morland previously told the court Foster returned inside the building after fires had broken out.

Dismissing his claim he returned inside to look for items to steal, she told the court: "Mr Foster, you went back into the school because you decided to pretend that you had been trapped."

After being rescued from the building he denied starting the fires, claiming others were responsible.

Foster was remanded back into custody and is due to be sentenced on 12 October.

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