Two old school friends who burned down a disused church have each been jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Michael John Lill and Jason Sulley, both 23, torched the hospital church of St Faith’s in Pinderfields Park last June. The Grade II listed church, on the corner of Eastmoor Road and Aberford Road, was part of the old Stanley Royd Asylum. It is thought to have been designed by renowned architect Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1861.
The roof, which was believed to be only one of two of its kind in the UK, collapsed and burnt to cinders. Owners Linfit Investments bought the church in 2007 for £285,000 and had planned to turn it into flats.
The remains of the building will have to be pulled down. The estimated overall cost is £850,000. Jailing them, judge Rodney Jameson, QC, said: ‘This is a serious offence indeed. It caused a great deal of economic loss and the church itself was regarded as a part of the cultural heritage of the community.’
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