Susan Lupton, 63, believed the animals had killed a local cat and deliberately set fire to Graham Lee’s vehicle after branding him an “evil badger man”
A woman who set her neighbour’s Land Rover ablaze in a peculiar attempt to exterminate badgers has avoided jail, despite causing nearly £20,000 worth of damage.
Susan Lupton, 63, was under the impression that the creatures had killed a local cat and intentionally ignited Graham Lee’s vehicle, labelling him an “evil badger man.”
However, it emerged in court that the cat in question had actually passed away due to old age.
Lupton, a writer, pleaded guilty to two counts of arson at Isle of Wight Crown Court but escaped a prison sentence and was prohibited from entering the Freshwater area.
She has since moved to Newport.
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The fire completely destroyed the 4×4 and spread to a neighbouring property, obliterating everything from a cooker extractor fan to a Japanese maple tree. The total damage was estimated at £18,500, reports the Express.
Houses in the area average around £400,000 – almost double the national average.
Mr Lee, who tried to extinguish the flames with a hose before the arrival of the fire brigade, stated:
“The badgers have not come back to my property since the incident a year ago.”
She also alleged that a firefighter friend advised her on how to start the fire. The court heard that she suffers from bipolar disorder and relocated to the UK from South Africa in 1980.
In a powerful victim impact statement, Mr Lee labelled Lupton as a “sick, twisted and manipulative individual” and expressed his fear that she might return with “some matches.”
He described the loss of his beloved Land Rover as “beyond words”, adding that the incident had a devastating impact on his life, saying: “Her actions ruined my life.”
