Two teenagers from Bath have been jailed for a total of seven a half years after torching a taxi office with four people inside it.

Police said it was a ‘miracle’ the women working inside the Abbey Taxis base at South Parade escaped with their lives after the attack in August last year.

Flames were seen to shoot into the air as a result of  the drug-fuelled incident which is estimated to have caused around £90,000 of damage to the taxi rank which had been refurbished at a cost of £60,000 two years earlier.

Benjamin Handley, 19, from Eastfield Avenue in Weston and a 15-year-old accomplice walked into the taxi office during a busy Saturday evening before pouring petrol on the floor of the building and tossing a lighter onto the fuel.

The duo, who had both been taking ‘dangerously high levels’ of illegal drugs, carried out the attack in a misplaced act of revenge after allegedly being struck by a taxi which they believed to have been part of the Abbey Taxis fleet earlier in the day.

Both teenagers were sentenced today at a hearing at Bristol Crown Court.

Handley was one of four youths who picked up a taxi being driven by 53-year-old self employed taxi driver John Law at 3.40pm on Saturday August 16.

The youngsters asked Mr Law to drive them to Oldfield Park and all four left the car when they arrived at the cul-de-sac Durley Park.

Mr Law thought he was not going to get paid and believed he may have been attacked after overhearing a conversation between one of the youths.

The taxi driver feared for his safety and made a three-point turn before driving off at speed.

Handley was struck by the car which also drove over the foot of his 15-year-old co-defendant.

The incident was witnessed by a resident who thought he had seen the taxi driving dangerously and called over one of the youths to ask if the taxi was working for Abbey Taxis.

Mark Hollier, prosecuting, said he had been so concerned about what he had seen that he called Abbey Taxis to complain about what he perceived to be bad driving by one of its cabbies.

In fact, Mr Law was not working for the firm.

Handley and his co-defendant were then caught on CCTV cameras at 6.02pm entering the Sainsbury’s petrol station at Green Park.

The 15-year-old defendant in the case was seen to steal a petrol can which he hid under his jumper.

Handley then approached a petrol pump at the station and paid for the petrol which went into the can.

The pair were next seen with other youths walking along James Street West in the direction of the Abbey Taxi office.

When they reached the taxi office Handley went into the building and distracted the staff by pretending to ask for a taxi under the surname of James.

His co-defendant then came into the building and poured petrol around it before throwing a lighter into the fuel.

Mr Hollier said: “There was an immediate and dramatic combustion with flames leaping up and out of the building.

“Fortunately all the staff escaped through a back door and suffered no physical harm.

“The lobby of the building was gutted by fire and smoke went into the main office, causing considerable smoke damage to the premises.”

Handley was arrested two days later and declined to answer police questions after his first interview.

The 19-year-old later admitted reckless arson, without regard to possible danger to life in court.

His 15-year-old accomplice was arrested on Sunday August 24 and, despite declining to answer questions in his initial police interview, was later identified by witnesses as being present at the time of the attack.

The teenager - who in court admitted arson with intent to endanger life - had been drinking vodka and smoking cannabis on the day of the attack.

Charles Row, defending, said his client accepted that he stole the petrol can and set light to the fuel.

He said: “He simply doesn’t engage his brain before acting and that is what he needs to address.

“He has shown since he has been in custody that he can apply himself and that is what he wants the opportunity to do.”

Jennifer Tallentire, defending Handley, said her client’s use of drugs played a big part in his involvement in “such an awful offence”.

She said: “He bitterly regrets his actions.

“His use of drugs at weekends and his association with those more sophisticated in crime than he was are what lead ultimately to him being involved in this very serious incident.”

Sentencing the defendants the Honourable Mr Justice Field said they had both been involved in an extremely serious offence.

He said: “You decided on some revenge.

“It wasn’t a spur of the moment and you thought about it carefully.

“You went about it in a deliberate and premeditated way.

“Luckily for you the staff at the taxi office were able to escape.

“You had both been consuming drugs and drink to a dangerously high extent.”

DC Wayne Sumsion said it was a ‘miracle’ no-one was injured in the fire.

"This incident could have so easily turned into a murder investigation – it is a complete miracle that the four women inside the taxi office escaped unhurt from such a severe fire.

"On that night, the two offenders showed no concern whatsoever about the fact that they were about to put four innocent people’s lives at risk. 

"The public have shown the police continued support in helping us to identify the two responsible and bring them to justice.  Our thanks go out to them.”

Handley was sentenced to four years in a young offenders institution while his co-defendant received three and a half years in a young offenders institute for his part in the incident.