Men in balaclavas poured petrol into WRONG home and set it alight as innocent family slept inside

MASKED men mistakenly hurled a petrol bomb into an innocent family’s home in the middle of the night causing a devastating blaze. Stuart and Claire Marsden had just come back from a night out when they heard a “loud crash” shortly after 1am at their home in Bury, Manchester. Jody Lynham threw a petrol bomb into the Marsden’s home causing a devastating fire Credit: Greater Manchest Police CCTV footage shows Lynam with an unknown offender approaching the property Credit: GMP BURY When Stuart went to investigate, he discovered a large fire had broken out in their rented end-of-terrace property. Thankfully their children had been staying elsewhere that night, but nine nine months on, the home remains uninhabitable. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Claire said: “We have lost everything.” “The children have lost all their Christmas stuff. “It is going to take so long to build everything back up. “I have done nothing to deserve this.” Cops managed to recover footage showing Jody Lynam, 45, and a second unidentified offender approaching the house at about 1.40am on January 18. The mystery offender smashed one of the property windows before masked Lynam poured petrol inside, sparking an explosion. Most read in The Sun Lynam, who had racked up 122 previous offences, was caught after DNA from a balaclava which he discarded nearby was traced back to him. Minshull Street Crown Court heard that drug addict Lynam and the unknown offender had been carrying out the orders of a dealer. They had been coerced into targeting a rival dealer to “send a message” and intimidate them. They were told the property would be empty, in a devastating case of “mistaken identity”. Lynam, of Hardfield Street, Heywood, was charged with arson with intent to endanger life and sentenced to six years and nine months in prison. The judge said at his sentencing: “This could have been multiple people killed.” Prosecuting Anthony Williams explained how Stuart shouted to his wife to get out of bed, rescued the dog and dialled 999. The fire was put out but left £113,000 worth of damage. In a statement read on his behalf, Stuart said he had “absolutely no reason” why anyone would do this. He said he had been left “traumatised” and in “constant stress”. “I am constantly on edge and keep thinking my whole family could have been wiped out, for no reason at all.” Defending Lynam, Adam Brown said that Lynam had been in poor health prior to the arson attack and had become addicted to crack cocaine. Adam added that drug dealers had reportedly “commandeered” his home and that Lynam had been “highly intoxicated” at the time of the attack. He said Lynam was “genuinely remorseful” and is in a “much better position” than when he was first placed on remand.