Man jailed for 21 years following two serious assaults and arson attack

A man from Liverpool has been jailed for more than 20 years for seriously assaulting two men and attempting to set a house on fire.

Thomas Frazer, of Hornby Road, hit a 27-year-old man in the face with a broken bottle in Ellesmere Port and left him permanently blind in one of his eyes.

He also sprayed flammable liquid onto a 43-year-old man in Bootle, Liverpool, and set it alight.

The incident left the victim with burns injuries on both arms and occurred moments after Frazer had attempted to set the house the man was in on fire.

He threw the flammable liquid into the kitchen through an open window and ignited it.

Frazer, 24, was sentenced for the offences at Chester Crown Court on Thursday 5 December.

He was jailed for a total of 21 years and given a further four years on licence.

Frazer was charged with wounding with intent following the assault in Ellesmere Port.

He denied the charge but was convicted of it by a jury on Monday 8 July following a week-long trial.

It was decided that a further charge of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place would lay on file.

The charges relate to an incident at the junction of Whitby Road and Cromwell Road in Ellesmere Port shortly before 1am on Wednesday 16 January.

The victim, who is from Ellesmere Port and is now 28, was walking home following a night out when he became involved in an altercation with another man.

At that point Frazer emerged from a flat and thrust a broken bottle into his face, causing permanent scarring as well as blindness.

The victim was taken to hospital in an ambulance before Cheshire Police officers located and arrested Frazer at a nearby address. The offences in Bootle occurred on Monday 19 September 2016 and were investigated by Merseyside Police.

The victim, who is now 46, is from Bootle and the fire in the house he was in was extinguished before it caused significant damage to the property.

Frazer was charged with arson with intent to endanger life and wounding with intent and pleaded guilty to the offences.

Detective Constable John Palmi, who led the investigation into the serious assault in Ellesmere Port for Cheshire Police, said: “I am delighted that Thomas Frazer is now behind bars where he is no longer a danger to the public.

“Not only did he seriously assault a man in Ellesmere Port with a broken bottle and cause him permanent blindness and scarring, he also sprayed a man with flammable liquid and burnt him in Liverpool after attempting to set the house he was in alight.

“The long custodial sentence that Frazer has been handed via the courts reflects the seriousness of the appalling offences he committed.

“I hope that the sentence he has received gives the victims some closure and enables them to move forward with their lives.

“I also hope that the sentence deters others from committing similar crimes.”