House of Reeves arsonist Gordon Thompson has been jailed for 11.5 years.

Appearing at The Old Bailey this morning Thompson, of Waddon Road, was sentenced for his part in the August Riots that ravaged Croydon last year.

The 34-year-old initially denied setting fire to the 150-year-old family owned furniture store, but changed his plea days into his trial in February.

Sentencing Judge Peter Thornton, who described House of Reeves as a "landmark store."

He said: “August 8 was a bad day for Croydon and the people of Croydon.

"Shops were broken into and looted, a bus was attacked and set on fire, groups of people roamed the streets looking for trouble, missiles were thrown, bystanders were threatened and, perhaps the most shocking event of all, the House of Reeves furniture store was set alight and burned to the ground, putting lives at risk.”

"By your plea of guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered you knew when you clicked the lighter that there was a risk that lives would be put at risk, but you nevertheless went ahead and took that risk. This was a deliberate, wilful act of shocking, dangerous vandalism."

He said the attack cost the business around £3 m through damage and earning lost, while the intense heat caused £300,000 damage to nearby tramlines.

Maurice Reeves, whose family own the store, spoke outside court, describing the sentence as a "fair judgement."

He said: "We continue trading and are still serving Croydon as we have done for five generations."

Footage of the historic building on fire became an iconic image of the riots and was beamed around the world.

Thompson was captured on film with the items he had stolen from looting in Surrey Street.

A short time later Thompson was again caught on CCTV entering the House of Fraser store and reemerging five minutes later with armfuls of stolen goods.

CCTV also captured Thompson at Reeves Corner where he ripped a shattered glass pane from its frame and entered the premises.

This time he stole a laptop computer and on leaving the store he asked another person for a lighter.

As soon as he was given one, he set fire to a sofa inside the shop.

The father-of-two 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".

CCTV footage and the help from members of the public who came forward to assist the police led to his arrest and conviction.

Thompson was arrested on 14 August.

He was interviewed on five occasions but refused to comment.

Superintendent Simon Messinger, Croydon Borough, said: "People all across the country were outraged by the shocking images of local businesses and homes being destroyed by mindless criminals on the 8 August 2011.

The fire at Reeves Corner provided some of the most iconic images but we must also remember that other businesses and homes were destroyed and local people were lucky to escape without serious harm.”

After the sentencing, Mike Fisher, leader of Croydon Council, said: "What we witnessed in Croydon last year must never be allowed to happen again.

"Gordon Thompson shamed his home town when he decided to set fire to the Reeves Furniture store and I am very pleased that he will now spend a long time in prison paying for that terrible crime."

Click here for full coverage of the Croydon riots