A SERIAL arsonist who was behind a bomb hoax drama at The Anvil in Basingstoke has had his jail sentence cut after appeal judges heard he has become a model prisoner.

Robert Boyd-Stevenson, 27, sparked a major police operation in the town centre in October 2003 when he planted a fake bomb at The Anvil - his former place of work.

He pleaded guilty at Winchester Crown Court in November last year and was jailed for 14 years for eight offences, including three arsons, two of which were reckless as to whether life would be endangered.

But judges at the Court of Appeal in London have now reduced his sentence by three years after hearing how Boyd-Stevenson - who was close to receiving a life sentence at crown court - has given evidence against a fellow inmate and intervened in an attempted suicide while behind bars.

The court also heard that his girlfriend is standing by him and will offer emotional support when he is finally released from jail.

Reducing the sentence, Mr Justice Wilkie said Boyd-Stevenson had shown the kind of "emotional stability and awareness" that would reduce his risk to the public.

The court heard that when Boyd-Stevenson (pictured) lived in Edgehill Close, off Buckskin Lane, Basingstoke, in 2002, he set fire to two of his neighbours' homes. One arson happened in March, while the occupants were in bed, and the second happened at an unoccupied property in the road in May. No one was hurt in either incident.

His catalogue of offending continued and in November 2002 he called the police claiming he was being sent messages from someone threatening to burn down his house and shoot him.

It later emerged he had sent the messages to his own phone and had poured lighter fluid around his front door.

In August 2003, Boyd-Stevenson set fire to the Bournemouth home of a former colleague at The Anvil, Emma Christmas.

He had befriended her when he worked as an electrician at the concert hall but his romantic advances were rebuffed.

Boyd-Stevenson subsequently set fire to the woman's flat in four places, using a key he had copied to get in. Two of the arson victim's three cats died in the fire.

In October 2003, he was asked to resign from his job at The Anvil. A hoax bomb, consisting of a plastic bag with wires and batteries taped to it, was found inside the concert hall on the same day.

The discovery led to roads into Basingstoke town centre being closed off and most of Castle Square, in Old Basing Mall, was sealed off while a bomb disposal team exploded the contraption.

When Boyd-Stevenson was originally sentenced last year, Judge Andrew Barnett told him: "I do not consider a sentence of life is justified but it is a very close-run thing."

At the appeal court, Mr Justice Wilkie - who was sitting with Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Owen - said that although the original sentence was not "manifestly excessive", the judges would reward Boyd-Stevenson for the progress he has shown behind bars and therefore cut his sentence to 11 years.

First published: Wednesday, April 27, 2005