A woman has been jailed for orchestrating a petrol bomb attack against her mother-in-law after saying she “wasn’t good enough” to marry her son.
Mother-in-law Christina Place found her car on fire after it was hit with a petrol bomb.
Alisha Anwar, 29, plotted with a friend to commit arson to blow up the car “for money”, the court heard.
Police were told Place had made clear that she did not like Anwar and that she “wasn’t good enough” for her son.
Anwar had asked another couple – Luke Williams and his partner – if they would “blow up a car” for cash.
However, unbeknownst to his girlfriend, Williams agreed and in June 2022 Place’s car was set alight.
By the time the fire service arrived, the blaze had spread to two more vehicles while neighbouring homes had to be evacuated.
A glass bottle of petrol was found under the vehicle.
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Williams’ girlfriend soon realised what the duo had done and informed police.
CCTV caught Williams filling up a petrol can at a garage the day before the arson attack and was spotted with a carrier bag in the area the fire took place.
Gareth Bellis, prosecuting, said: “Williams was arrested and an analysis of his phone showed he’d been searching for ‘arson punishment UK’.”
A £150 payment – referenced as “birthday money” – was also transferred from Anwar days before the incident.
Alisha Anwar, 29, plotted with a friend to commit arson to blow up the car “for money”, the court heard
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Mark Connor, defending, told the court: “She made the request – but I suspect she was not involved in the detail of carrying it out.
“It was a revenge offence. For a long time, she was not able to come to terms with what she had done, such was her fear of the consequences despite the weight of evidence against her.
“But she eventually made the right decision. She is now able to make proper and rational decisions.”
Connor said probation officers who interviewed Anwar said she was “a very vulnerable young woman”.
Anwar was jailed for 16 months and given a two-year restraining order to protect her mother-in-law.
