PHILIP Day has been found guilty today of an eight-year campaign against a Northwich school, which ultimately led to him burning it down. 

Here is a timeline of Day's eight-year rampage, fuelled by his conspiracy of a teacher paedophile ring and a wide-spread police cover-up. 

Timeline of events

December 2011 – Philip Day first becomes aware of allegations that a UCAN teacher had raped a student. He made a complaint to the school, which developed into complaints to Cheshire West and Chester Council’s safeguarding department and the police.

January 2012 – safeguarding meeting between school, LADO, and police. School investigation concluded, and with no official report made to the police by the alleged victim the police told Day that the case would be shelved but reopened as soon as any disclosure was made.

December 2012 – Day contacts police to ask for an update. With no new evidence having been presented, the police again say the case could not be investigated further at this stage.

September 2014 – Police investigation reopened after Day alleges via a comment online that UCAN is employing a paedophile. He hands police names of other alleged victims, but conversations with them result in no allegations and refuting of Day’s claims of their involvement.

March 2016 – after the alleged victim contacted the police, an informal interview takes place with her. Officers Janet Bickle and Gemma Bradbury told the court it was a ‘difficult’ interview with no clear narrative of the alleged incident. Day obtains a covert recording of the meeting, and hears that the word ‘rape’ was mentioned but nothing recorded by the police. Officers say they did not hear the word at the time, and complaints against them were upheld.

In attempting to make a report to the LADO, Day is charged with making threats to kill the UCAN teacher, as well as with possession of a shotgun. He had handed the firearm in during a police amnesty, and the charge was dropped.

June 2017 – Day meets Samantha Baldwin online after reading about her campaign against alleged child abuse, which was found unproven by a family court judge. At some stage, they begin an affair.

June 2017 – he sends a Facebook message to the teacher telling him to ‘ask for protection’ and ‘hand yourself into the police or hide’.

July 2017 – Day is acquitted of making threats to kill. He records a video for Facebook outside Chester Crown Court, telling viewers that he is on a quest for ‘the truth’ about alleged child abuse at UCAN, claiming ‘this is just the beginning’.

August 2017 – Day records three more videos, including one outside UCAN in the middle of the night and one outside Leftwich High School, where a teacher was cautioned for running away with a schoolgirl in 2000. He continues to appeal for information about what he called a ‘paedophile ring’ in the town, and received mixed responses. The prosecution told jurors that comments opposing his campaign were deleted, while others gave Day information and he continued to ask them to press headteacher Cath Green for answers.

August 2017 – the alleged victim contacted a police officer saying she was not happy with Day’s conduct online. Meanwhile, Day told jurors, he was ‘managing’ the posts by telling people that violence was not acceptable.

September 2017 – a video is recorded on the first day of the new school year at UCAN, by Day from the van in the car park. The teacher who had become the subject of Day’s videos – and indeed was named on the video on this day – ran into the school when he saw Day in his van.

September and October 2017 – An open evening for prospective UCAN pupils and parents is advertised online. Day attends asking to speak to Ms Green, and the school goes into a pre-planned ‘lockdown’ procedure, where the teacher and Ms Green are hidden away. A similar occurrence at a school open morning weeks later leads to another lockdown. On each occasion, videos are recorded after he was refused entry.

October 2017 – Day served with civil injunction and removes the Facebook videos and posts. It also reveals to day that there had been no police investigation into the teacher in 2010 and 2012.

December 2017 – a fire in Essex is burned down by Day. It belongs to Ms Baldwin’s ex-husband’s new partner, although the family is away on a skiing trip when the fire occurs early on New Year’s Eve. The blaze included 15 seats of fire. Prosecutors say Day obtained the address from Ms Baldwin, while he maintained he didn’t know about the fire and was spotted in the area by ANPR cameras because he was doing courier work for ‘major players in the underworld’, namely murdered gangster John Kinsella.

December 2017 – the house was also burgled at some time around New Year’s Eve, prosecutors say, with Day charged with the offence but later cleared by a jury.

February 2018 – Day is interviewed by Cheshire Police in relation to allegations that he had harassed the UCAN teacher and Ms Green. He becomes angry and talks of a cover-up during the interview, which is terminated shortly thereafter.

February 2018 – early on February 25, Day sets fire to UCAN. The fire involves 20 seats of fire and the use of an accelerant thought to be petrol. A man is spotted by an eyewitness crossing the road with a jerry can shortly after the fire was started, and a red Volvo – on which Day was insured – is seen driving away from the scene. It is later found by police near his home in Saltash Close, Runcorn with the doors not fully closed. Day is arrested later that day, handing over car keys and his phone to police.

June 2018 – interview takes place with Essex Police regarding the Essex fire. He is vague in his response regarding why he was in the area, failing at this stage to mention his John Kinsella alibi. He is able to confirm his relationship with Samantha Baldwin.

Summer 2018 – Day fails in an application to dismiss the case ahead of a trial date being set.

VERDICT > UCAN school arsonist Philip Day found GUILTY

December 2018 – Day disposes of his legal team, just two weeks before the trial.

WATCH > 'He was obsessed' says inspector

January 2019 – trial begins on January 2 at Chester Crown Court February 2019 – Jury returns verdicts on February 19