THE conviction of Philip Day for charges including arson and stalking at UCAN was the result of a 'complex' investigation, police have said.

A jury found Day, who turned 56 during a seven-week trial at Chester Crown Court, guilty of arson at the school, stalking of two of its staff members, and arson at a house in Essex.

His actions during a lengthy campaign, which stemmed from a belief that a teacher had raped a student at UCAN, have been described as 'despicable' and 'reckless'.

DC Paul Cundy, from Northwich CID, said: “This has been a complex and lengthy investigation focusing on a number of different elements.

“Day’s actions over an eight-year period were despicable. He decided to take the law into his own hands causing millions of pounds worth of damage to a local school with no regard for the consequences.

“This had a significant impact on teachers and pupils with the school being forced to close whilst alternative arrangements were made.

"Without the actions of local firefighters, who not only extinguished the fire but also managed to rescue many items – including valuable school work – from inside the building, the consequences could have been far worse.

“Day also waged a campaign against two teachers – causing them a lot of upset and distress. I hope that the guilty verdicts and sentence handed down today provides them with some closure and allows them to move on with their lives.

“I would like to thank all those involved in this case and acknowledge the help of the local community who were key in identifying Day as a suspect.

“Thankfully, as a result of a thorough investigation by officers from Northwich Local Policing Unit, and in conjunction with Essex Police, Day is now facing the consequences of his actions and a long prison sentence.”

Paul Binyon, from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, added: "Day’s reckless actions put the lives of local residents and firefighters at considerable risk, whilst causing major disruption to the children’s education and we welcome the sentence that has been handed to him.

“Arson is a serious crime and the fire at the school in Northwich was significant and is one of the worst incidents I have ever had to deal with.

“When firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire had already taken hold and the building was heavily smoke logged, including an on-site flat where the caretaker had been sleeping, who suffered inhalation of smoke when discovering the fire.

“At the height of the blaze there were more than 50 firefighters involved – along with 12 fire engines, two aerial platforms, a welfare unit, a command and control unit, a high-volume pump and a number of specialist officers.

“The crews that attended the incident worked tirelessly to bring the fire under control and, as a result of their hard work, and close liaison with the UCAN staff, they were able to limit the damage that was caused to the school as much as they could.”

Day is set to be sentenced on April 12 at Chester Crown Court.