Three facing jail over Aldridge arson

Three men were today facing jail for setting fire to a £1.8 million Aldridge mansion, which exploded into a fireball and left them fleeing for their lives.

Dramatic details of the blaze can be revealed for the first time today after a third man admitted his part in the devastating arson attack.

Parminder Kandola, aged 34, originally pleaded not guilty to burning down the country home in Chester Road. But he returned to Stafford Crown Court today to admit arson being reckless to whether life was endangered.

Two other men, George Brandy and Richard Sylvester pleaded guilty to the same charge in February.

The luxury home was once the home of career criminal David 'Nipper' Harris, the ringleader of a £35m mortgage fraud, who had been jailed for six years in 1994 for conspiracy to defraud.

And just days before the fire, it had been seized by the Serious Organised Crime Agency which aimed to sell it under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

But despite a lengthy investigation, no link was ever made between the three defendants, all from Nottingham, and its previous owner, and the men have never given an explanation as to why they carried out the attack.

The house went up in flames in the early hours of April 23 last year.

As the fire raged, a badly-burned man staggered into Bloxwich Police Station seven miles away pleading for help.

But it later emerged the man was Sylvester, who had earlier that night doused the house in petrol. An unexpected explosion left him engulfed in flames.

Brandy and Sylvester were sent to hospital for treatment and later arrested. Kandola escaped by taxi and was arrested weeks later.

A warrant was issued for Richard Sylvester as he did not turn up to court. They will be sentenced on October 29.