Rioter sentenced to 11 years for starting furniture store fire

The man accused of starting the fire which destroyed Reeves furniture store in the August riots has been jailed for 11 ½ years.

Gordon Thompson admitted starting the blaze that destroyed the 140 year old shop in Croydon, south London.

The blaze cost over £3 million and caused significant danger to residents and firefighters.

Thompson started the fire by setting fire to a cushion in the store. Shortly after he was heard boasting about what he had done.

Thompson admitted arson and also three charges of burglary for which he got concurrent lesser terms.

Judge Peter Thornton told him: “This day was a bad day for Croydon and the people of Croydon. Perhaps the most shocking event was that the House of Reeves was set alight and burned to the ground, putting lives at risk. This is, was, a landmark store, a furniture store of the Reeves family business which had stood on the site for over 140 years, proudly giving its name to its location, Reeves Corner. You were about to bring all that to an end. This was a deliberate, wilful act of shocking, dangerous vandalism.” The judge said the Reeves family’s loss was priceless. “The trauma they have suffered is inestimable.”

Many people were left traumatised by the incident. Many had to escape from the fire with young children.

It is now evident that Thompson has 20 previous convictions, including one for violent robbery.