Arsonist Sets Himself on Fire Instead of Pub

Insert backfire joke/pun here.

A 33-year-old English man, Michael Morgan, was sentenced to thirty months in prison for “reckless arson” on December 16, 2011. Reckless is one term for it, embarrassingly massive failure is another when you consider the fact that his original intent was to set a popular pub in Chester Crown Court on fire but he ironically torched himself instead.

Bravo.

Security footage shows the man pulling up on a bike—a good sign already, that’s usually what hardened criminals use when they want to make a quick getaway—next to the building. After fiddling around with something in his pocket, I’m going to assume a lighter, he bends over to the side of the building. Then there is a mildly large initial explosion, which engulfed both him and his big-boy bike. He peddled away with a sad little flame tagging along on the back of his shirt, leaving a small bonfire in his wake.

Morgan admitted to the attack, which occurred on August 1^st. The footage has only just now reached the public eye, having been issued by the fire service as part of their ongoing arson reduction campaign. Essentially, the video proves that potential arsonists should resist the urge to set buildings on fire, if only to save themselves.

Cheshire Fire Service’s arson reduction manager, Colin Heyes, stated that this video “clearly shows how dangerous this sort of reckless behavior can be. It was fortunate that there was nobody in the property at the time of the fire…. Arson costs the taxpayers millions and more importantly, it costs people their lives.”

And their bikes.

You can view the 48 seconds of sheer human brilliance at its finest here.

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