Arsonist who attacked two of Manchester's most famous buildings learns fate
An arsonist who 'risked a fatality' when he started a fire at one of Manchester's best known hotels is to be detained in a secure hospital.
Hundreds of guests had to evacuated in the early hours of the morning as the blaze, deliberately set by 23-year-old James Carter, took hold.
Carter, who was sleeping rough and was mentally unwell at the time, set light to artificial ivy 'foliage' around a side entrance to the hotel before walking away.
The whole of the foliage and the door, on Mount Street, went up in flames. A total of 280 people had to escorted out of the four-star hotel housed in the iconic Grade I listed building as emergency services raced to the scene at around 3:30am on Tuesday January 9 last year.
Fortunately firefighters managed to contain the flames and stop them spreading and 'intruding further into the hotel.'
However it caused ‘extensive' burn and smoke damage to the brickwork of the building, estimated to be around £150,000. Specialists had to be be drafted in clean smoke damage from four bedrooms within the hotel.
CCTV showed a man, later identified to be Carter, walking past the entrance before returning and 'examining' the foliage before setting light to it.
Just weeks earlier, on Thursday, December 21, 2023, he had also attacked the Royal Exchange Theatre. He had used a lighter to set a decorative 'Narnia arch' – which extended around five to six metres above the main entrance on Cross Street – alight in several places.
The fire lasted a few minutes before it was spotted and extinguished by security staff. It caused ‘significant’ damage to a sign, roller shutters and a light, estimated as being worth about £9,000.
After examining CCTV from both incidents, officers determined it was the same person