Jealous ex-hubby plotted to burn me alive in my flat
Peter Brindley started a fire under the outside gas meter of ex Beth's home
WHEN Beth Brindley’s marriage fell apart it almost led to her home exploding – with her trapped inside.
She had just opened a bottle of wine to celebrate her birthday with friends, unaware that her ex-husband was outside trying to blow her up.
Peter Brindley had started a fire under the outside gas meter in an attempt to destroy the flat.
But a neighbour saw the flames and called the fire brigade.
Sirens blared as Beth’s home was surrounded by the emergency services trying to prevent an explosion which could have ended in tragedy.
Brindley, 50, had poured glue into her front door lock to stop her escaping and had cut the phone cable.
The fire service had to evacuate her street and gas workers were called out to switch off the supply.
They escaped unharmed, despite flames shooting 10ft up the wall and a gas pipe melting.
At Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, Brindley was convicted of attempted murder and last week was sentenced to 17 years in prison with a three-year extended licence.
Beth, 37, of Tunstall, Stoke, says: “I think he chose my birthday on purpose — as the day to die.
“When I leaned out of the window after hearing the sirens, firemen explained that the gas meter was alight and they were trying to make it safe before they got us out.
“I started to panic, realising that if the meter exploded we would die. We were trapped and there was nothing we could do except wait. I survived, but it has left me emotionally scarred.”
Beth and her friends were eventually led to safety by firemen who forced open her door.
Now she is trying to come to terms with the discovery that the man who had been her rock for years could do such a thing.
She says: “Peter and I met 12 years ago when I was going through a tough time. We got close and he was kind and caring.
“I had grown up in care and didn’t have anyone to rely on. Peter was nearly 14 years older and wanted to protect me. I fell head over heels.”
The couple moved in together and married on May 30, 2008. But months after the wedding, the relationship hit problems.
Beth says: “Peter didn’t have a job, yet I worked really hard as a chef in a pub.
RELATED STORIES
“All day he would stare at his PlayStation and drink lager. He hated me going to work and didn’t like me having friends there.
“He became very controlling and jealous. He’d accuse me of having an affair. It was ridiculous because, despite his flaws, I loved Peter so much and I wasn’t interested in anyone else.
“I went to a One Direction concert with my mates from work, and Peter went berserk. After that, I wasn’t allowed to go out — he just wouldn’t allow it.
“He was destroying the person I had once been.”
By June 2014, Beth was desperate to end her unhappy marriage.
She says: “I didn’t have the confidence to leave him yet I was at the end of my tether, so one night I got really drunk and slept with someone else.
“I told Peter about him and he threw me out. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it was the only way I knew for certain that Peter would let me go.
“Suddenly we heard the sirens outside and realised there were firemen and police surrounding the flat. I leaned out of the window and discovered the horror unfolding.”
Firemen forced open her front door and Beth and her friends were taken to safety.
She says: “It was very frightening. The police told me my locks had been glued and my phone wires had been cut, so immediately alarm bells rang.
“It was so calculating. I felt sick.”
When Brindley was arrested, police found he had kept a journal. One entry read: “Bad dreams again. Woke up and had to check I hadn’t killed you.”
In court last month Brindley pleaded not guilty to two counts of attempted murder.
Beth says: “I’ve struggled to cope since the fire. I don’t sleep well, but I won’t let Peter ruin my life.
“I’m starting to enjoy my life — one he never wanted me to have.”