A woman torched her neighbour’s Land Rover because she believed the badgers he cared for killed a cat.
Susan Lupton, 63, set fire to Graham Lee’s car in an attempt to kill the badgers living on his driveway in Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight.
The blaze not only gutted the 56-year-old’s car but also damaged the home of neighbour Kavita Hayton as it spread, causing £18,500 in damages.
Lupton had dubbed Graham, a wildlife volunteer, the ‘evil badger man’ on Facebook for leaving food outside for badgers.
But a court heard how Lupton’s ‘fixation’ led to her setting fire to a plastic container filled with white spirit under the car on June 20 last year.
As the flames engulfed the Land Rover Freelander, Lutvia’s fence, shed, tree and security camera were all singed.
A window, toolbox, guttering, cooker extractor and a Japanese Maple Tree at the neighbouring property were also damaged beyond repair.
Graham and Katvia, both pensioners, were in bed at the time of the fire, according to the Isle of Wight County Press.
Graham suffered smoke inhalation after attempting to extinguish the blaze with a hose pipe.
Lupton told police that she started the fire to kill the badgers, falsely believing they had killed a cat owned by a local homeowner.
Yet Graham, who moved to the UK from South Africa in 1980, said the feline had simply died of old age.
Lupton had been harassing Graham on Facebook and asked a firefighter friend how to start the inferno, prosecutor Joanna Staples said.
In a victim impact statement, he described Lupton as a ‘sick, twisted and manipulative individual’ and feared she would appear outside his home with matches.
Lupton had ‘ruined his life’ and destroyed his ‘pride and joy’, his 4×4, he added.
Jonathan Underhill, defending, said Lupton had a single conviction for criminal damage on her record.
She had bipolar disorder and Underhill asked the judge to impose a suspended sentence to help her ongoing rehabilitation.
Judge James Newton-Price said that the victims in the case had suffered a ‘terrifying experience’ because of Lupton’s ‘irrational obsession’.
The judge said: ‘You were sectioned after the fire because you were suffering from an episode of mania.
‘Extensive damage was done. It was a terrifying experience for the victims.
‘You, living nearby, watched the terrifying incident and told an officer, “I did it. I’m responsible”.’
The judge added: ‘You say you are horrified for what you’ve done. I believe you have a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, and that imprisonment would reverse your progress.’
Lupton was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with a restraining order to stay away from Graham.
She was ordered to pay costs of up to £1,000 and compensation of £7,835.
Lupton has also been banned from the village of Freshwater.
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