Drug gang jailed for arson attack on widow’s home while she slept

Four men have been jailed after launching an arson attack on a house in south Wales while a grandmother was asleep upstairs.

Connor Pitt, 24; Auryn Gustur, 19; 19-year-old Alfie Wheeler; and 33-year-old Lewis Manito all from Weston-super-Mare attacked the home of an 82-year-old grandmother in Protheroe Street, Ferndale due to a criminal vendetta directed by an organised crime group outside the UK.

Widow Carol Ford, 82, escaped her house barefoot and in a nightie when it was targeted by the arson gang over her grandsons’ drug debts.

Just after 11pm on July 27, 2025, Storm Truman, 19, from Western-super-Mare, drove her white Seat Ibiza, containing Wheeler and Gustur, from the West Country area to a street in Ferndale. There they met Pitt, who had been driven to South Wales by Lewis Manito. The car Manito used was never recovered.

The gang had two jerry cans of petrol with them. Pitt then entered the Seat Ibiza and Truman drove the three males to Protheroe Street to carry out the attack in the early hours of the morning on July 28. The report of the fire was made to police at 1:25 am, by 1:50 am the four men were in custody.

CCTV footage showed Wheeler and Pitt approaching the front of the address holding the green petrol jerry cans, whilst Gustur used his phone to broadcast the attack.

An accelerant was used to ignite the fire, which immediately engulfed the front of the house and the cars outside the address. The elderly victim was asleep downstairs but had been awoken by the sound of glass smashing. They could be heard screaming on CCTV as the house ignited.

With help from neighbours and officers the victim was able to get out of the house safely, whilst the four fled from the scene. Officers arrived in the street shortly after and evacuated occupants from their addresses. The fire service arrived and a major incident was later declared.

Approximately £650,000 worth of damage was caused to three properties, their contents and a car.

Officers conducted immediate CCTV enquiries and identified from footage that the fire was deliberate. Officers also identified an emergency glass shatter hammer on the street which was seized.

Witnesses reported seeing a suspicious car in the street immediately before the fire and were able to give a partial registration number to police.

Whilst the incident was ongoing, a roads policing officer was on mobile patrol driving along the A470 towards the Coryton Interchange when he observed the white Seat Ibiza. The officer had received information that the car had recently travelled from the Somerset area, where it was registered, to the Rhondda valleys and was returning in a very short space of time. Information indicated that the vehicle was involved in the supply of controlled drugs.

A stinger device was used to bring the car to stop. The occupants of the car were then arrested. Inside the car was a machete, hammer, gloves and a balaclava. The Seat’s sat nav showed that the address in Protheroe Street had been entered into it as a destination.

Analysis of mobile phones recovered from the Seat Ibiza identified Lewis Manito’s involvement in the attack and he was arrested by Avon and Somerset Police in August 2025.

Pitt pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Gustur pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life and was sentenced to 15 and a half years in prison.

Wheeler pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life and possession of a bladed article (in respect of a machete found in the car on his arrest) and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Manito pleaded guilty to arson recklessly endangering life and perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Storm Truman was found not guilty of arson.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Owain Morrison, said:

“This was a cowardly attack on the home of an 82-year-old woman, organised and directed by a criminal figure due to a debt linked to the victim’s family member. The victim was wholly innocent.
“Those that carried out the attack did so for financial gain. They had little care of the consequences for the person in the house or their neighbours. They would have heard the victim screaming as they ignited the fire and made off from the scene. It is only by luck this was not a fatal attack.
“The professionalism of our Roads Policing Unit meant that four men were promptly arrested as they made their way to the M4.
“A team of dedicated investigators worked tirelessly to gather key evidence and identify other persons directly involved in the attack and bring them to justice.
“I would like to thank DC Cath Moore, the Officer in the Case, for her care and attention in building a compelling body of evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service to present to the court which is reflected in the guilty pleas.
“Above all I would like to thank the victim in this case, and their family, for their courage and patience whilst we investigated this matter.
“I would like to re-assure the community that the investigation to identify the person who directed this attack and bring them to justice is ongoing.”