Jilted bride set ex-fiancee’s house on fire

A rejected bride-to-be set fire to her ex-fiancee’s house after plans for their wedding were called off, a court heard.

Catherine Jarvis, 54, used a ladder to scale the outside of the house in Kingskerswell then sneaked in through a balcony door while Colin Jarvis was at work.

Once inside she set fire to the tassels of one of his chairs with a cigarette lighter and left the house in Water Lane to burn. Fire crews put the blaze out but not before several thousand pounds worth of damage had been caused.

Exeter Crown Court was told that Jarvis, a healthcare worker, had been experiencing ‘emotional turmoil’ at the time of the fire.

A previous hearing heard how she had changed her surname from Comber to Jarvis by deed poll ahead of her proposed marriage to Mr Jarvis.

Judge David Evans jailed Jarvis for 21 months but suspended the sentence for two years. She was given 150 hours of unpaid work and told to pay £3,000 compensation.

Ms Jarvis, who now lives in London, admitted arson. The incident happened on June 13, 2016.

Prosecutor Ms Caroline Bolt said Mr Jarvis and the defendant had been living together and intending to marry on July 2.

“But this was called off when she found Mr Jarvis had been attempting to start another relationship in early May.” Ms Jarvis moved out of the property on June 3, said the prosecutor.

On June 13 a passerby noticed smoke coming from the house at about 1.30pm. Crews attended and put the blaze out. An investigation revealed it had been started by a naked flame to the chair in the living room.

It turned out Mr Jarvis had changed the locks so the defendant had used a ladder in the back garden to clamber up to a balcony and an old set of keys to get inside.