A MAN who rammed an oil tanker full of kerosene into his estranged wife’s home while she was inside has been jailed for seven years.

Hugh Robertson Billington, 51, was told by a judge that he acted in ‘a wicked way’ and could have caused an ‘enormous’ explosion in Wool.

His wife Christine Billington escaped through a window, Dorchester Crown Court heard.

Ex-Army musician Billington, of Folly Lane, Wool, was sentenced at Dorchester Crown Court after admitting offences of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, dangerous driving, theft and assault.

The charges related to January 20 this year when Billington drove a seven-and-a-half-tonne fuel tanker containing 2,000 litres of kerosene into his former marital home in Folly Lane before starting a number of fires around the tanker and inside the house.

Jennie Rickman, prosecuting, said Billington, originally from Yeovil in Somerset, had been married for around 30 years before the relationship started to break down last year.

She said that in January the defendant was on bail in relation to a domestic violence incident and had moved out of the home he used to share with his wife.

Miss Rickman said on the morning of the offences Billington took an oil tanker from the depot where he worked and headed to the bungalow in Folly Lane.

She said: “At about 8.45am Mrs Billington was at home when she heard what she referred to as an almighty crash.

“She went into the hall to see what had happened and as she entered she could see the tanker had come through the front of the house and made effectively a hole in the wall.”

Miss Rickman said Mrs Billington immediately fled the scene through the rear of the property while the defendant went round the house lighting a number of fires.

He also switched on the gas hob in the kitchen, the court heard.

As he fled the scene Billington assaulted off-duty special constable Trevor Knott who had tried to detain the defendant.

Meanwhile, passing motorist Darren Fletcher bravely reversed the tanker away from the house before attempting to put out the fire with Mr Knott.

Billington also admitted stealing a boiler suit and rugby shirt from Oliver Towers from a washing line in Wool the same day before he was arrested by police at around 11.30am.

Tim Shorter, mitigating, said Billington was a man of good character who had served in the army for more than 25 years, principally as a musician and medical aid in the Household Cavalry Regiment.the Household Regiment.

He said the defendant admitted that ‘something snapped’ on the morning of the offences and he was now full of remorse.

Mr Shorter added: “He is someone who has all his life been a leader of men and has been an example that people look up to and he knows very well that what he did on that day was thoroughly and unarguably wrong.”

He stressed that Billington did not believe his wife would be at home at the time he drove the tanker into the house and checked to see she was not there before lighting the fires inside.

Judge Roger Jarvis sentenced Billington to seven years in prison for the arson offence, one year for the dangerous driving, two months for the assault and 28 days for the theft with the sentenced to be served concurrently. he was also banned from driving for five years.

He told the defendant: “I’m told you are full of remorse and so you should be.

“You acted in a wicked way indeed.”