Two men have been jailed for four years each after travelling from London to mid Wales to deliberately set fire to the premises of Ty Nant – the water company famous for its iconic blue bottles.
Darryl Kinnear, 34, and Peter Silva, 22, both from east London, started the blaze at the Ty Nant water plant in Bethania, Ceredigion, causing more than £600,000 worth of damage to the company.
Emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 11pm on 17 June this year, where they found extensive fire damage to the property.
A subsequent police and fire investigation established that the blaze had been started deliberately, leading to the identification and arrest of the two London suspects.
Both men pleaded guilty to arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered when they appeared at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing. With discounts for their guilty pleas, both received four-year prison sentences.
Kinnear was also sentenced to 12 months to run consecutively with the four years for an offence of dangerous driving committed in London.
The defendants will serve up to half their sentences in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
Speaking after the sentencing, Dyfed-Powys Police detective inspector Leon Lewis said: “This was a reckless and dangerous act that could have easily led to serious injury or loss of life. Arson is a very serious crime, and I’d like to thank my investigative team for bringing these offenders to justice. These sentences reflect the gravity of their actions. We will do everything in our power to catch and convict criminals that travel into our communities to commit crime.”
