A MAN was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment yesterday for recklessly endangering life by setting fire to an ice cream van in Oakley Road.
Javed Lal, 43, from Arundel Road in Luton, pleaded guilty before Luton Crown Court to arson recklessly endangering life in the incident on April 2.
Lal was arrested on April 19 at Heathrow Airport as he tried to leave the country, the day before he was due to speak to officers at Luton Police Station in conncetion with the investigation.
Speaking after the sentencing, Det Con Helen Howson said: “This incident could have ended in a family, including small children, being seriously injured, as the fire was so hot it caused significant damage to the windows at the front of the property forcing the family to take refuge in the back garden where they were trapped until the Fire Service were able to extinguish the blaze.
“Lal tried to abscond from the UK to Pakistan and his arrest and subsequent charge shows how successfully the Police Service and other security services work together. Bedfordshire Police will continue to do all we can to bring offenders to justice and to ensure our communities remain safe.”