The man responsible for burning a 150-year-old Croydon furniture store to the ground is set to be sentenced today.
Gordon Thompson, Waddon Road, is expected to receive a significant jail sentence when he appears at The Old Bailey today.
Thompson, 33, pleaded guilty to starting the blaze that destroyed House of Reeves furniture store during the August riots in Croydon, an image that was seen around the globe, at the Old Bailey in February.
The fire gutted the building, one of the historic landmarks of Croydon, before spreading to neighbouring flats and endangering lives.
Thompson, from Waddon Road, had even boasted about torching the shop, with a witness describing how he ran past saying “it was me, I did that, I burned Reeves Corner”.
Earlier that evening he had looted in the town centre, ransacking House of Fraser in Centrale Shopping Centre.
CCTV footage, and the help of members of the public who came forward to assist the police led to his arrest and conviction.
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