St Leonards man jailed for arson and breach of Stalking Protection Order

A man who breached a Stalking Protection Order by attending an address in St Leonards and setting fire to two outbuildings has been jailed.

Kefayet Hussain, 28, a chef of Grand Parade, St Leonards, was made the subject of a Stalking Protection Order (SPO) in June 2020 following numerous report of harassment towards two people, one of whom was known to him. The order prevented him from attending their address in Willingdon Avenue.

In July 2021, the victims were enjoying a night out in Hastings town centre when they saw Hussain in a bar. There was no interaction between them and the victims left the venue, returned home and went to sleep.

A short while later, they woke to the sound of Hussain shouting and kicking a car parked outside their address. One of the victims went outside to confront Hussain, only for him to pull a large kitchen knife from his trousers before running from the scene.

The victim then noticed two sheds on fire at the property - one less than a metre from the house where they had been sleeping - and called emergency services.

Police attended the scene and began to carry out an area search for the suspect. Hussain was spotted on Battle Road and as officers made a move to arrest him, he fled and was seen discarding two objects in a garden in Hollington Old Lane - later confirmed to be two knives.

Hussain was found hiding under a parked van a short while later, and was arrested on suspicion of arson, two counts of criminal damage, possession of a knife and breaching his Stalking Protection Order by attending the address in Willingdon Avenue.

He pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court on Monday 14 February and was later sentenced on February 25 to 99 weeks in total - 36 weeks for possession of a knife; 63 weeks for arson to run consecutively; 50 weeks for breach of an SPO to run concurrently; and three weeks for each count of criminal damage to run concurrently. The Stalking Prevention Order remains in place until June 2022.

Detective Constable Stuart Roberts of East Sussex Safeguarding Investigation Unit said: "Stalking has a serious and devastating impact on the lives of victims, and it is an offence we take incredibly seriously.

"Hussain was already the subject of a Stalking Prevention Order when he chose to commit further offences that could have resulted in serious injury or loss of life. Fortunately, no one was physically harmed but we cannot underestimate the emotional distress his actions have caused both victims.

"We hope this case shows we will continue to follow-up on offenders and take action against breaches of an SPO and any further offences they may commit."