Teenagers face jail for setting tandoori restaurant ablaze
Two teenage boys who set an Indian restaurant ablaze, leaving at least six people injured are facing years in jail.
Three women and three men were taken to hospital after the fire ripped through the Indian Aroma restaurant on Woodford Avenue in Gants Hill, Ilford, at 9pm last 22 August.
Staff and customers were inside the restaurant when the masked arsonists stormed in and poured petrol round the premises, the Old Bailey heard.
The eatery was engulfed in flames leaving one woman with 58 burns covering her upper body and fac while a man was left in a coma with life-changing injuries.
The boys, who were 16 at the time but are now 17, were both armed with machetes as they threatened terrifed diners in the tandoori.
The pair, who cannot be named, were convicted by a jury of arson with intent to endanger life after a seven week trial and remanded in custody ahead of sentence on 2 October.
The motive for the attack remains unclear.
While one of the thugs waved his machete the other boy stood ready with a taper and lighter as petrol was poured over the floor as well as furniture and even some of the diners.
The teenager then lit the taper which ignited a fireball that quickly ripped through the restaurant.
Two victims were left with critical burn injuries after the horrifying attack.
Detectives analysed ‘countless’ hours of cctv footage and saw the suspects fleeing the scene, before piling into a stolen Toyota Prius parked nearby.
They used data from ANPR records showing the car travelling to and from Peckham, in southeast London, that evening.
The Prius was then driven to Barkingside, where CCTV showed it parking near a supermarket.
One of the defendants then walked to a petrol station and brazenly thieved several litres of petrol by pouring it into cannisters.
The Prius was then driven to Gants Hill and parked near the Indian Aroma shortly before the arson attack was carried out.
The car was later found and police recovered petrol cannisters inside along with mobile phones used to identify the suspects.
Detective Inspector Emma Sharp, who led the investigation, said: ‘This group tried outmanoeuvre the police and avoid the consequences of their pre-mediated violence, but today’s outcome showcases that our detectives can unravel multifaceted incidents to secure justice and take dangerous offenders off our streets.
‘The August attack impacted dozens of innocent people, and I’d like to thank the victims and witnesses for their steadfast resilience since the incident, and throughout the trial.’
The pair were also found guilty of a possession of an offensive weapon.
They were remanded and will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 2 October.
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