Two men have today been convicted of murder following a fatal arson attack in Wolverhampton last summer. Akashdeep Singh who was 26, died after the blaze at his home in Plascom Road on Tuesday 25 June, with the horrific fire also leaving his mother with life-changing injuries and seriously injuring one of his brothers. Dale Francis and Daniel Tatters worked together to commit this crime with Tatters setting the fire in the early hours after smashing a front bay window, pouring in flammable liquid and setting it alight using a cigarette lighter, which was then left discarded on the driveway. Emergency services began getting calls just after 1.10am with one of those calls being from Akashdeep who was trapped inside by the house. Three of the family were outside as crews arrived, with one of Akashdeep's brothers having jumped out of a first floor window to escape. Tragically despite the best efforts of medics Akashdeep, who had severe burns, was pronounced dead in hospital later that morning. His mother, whose injuries were also extensive, remained in hospital for many months but has since been discharged to continue her recovery with her family. Investigators carried out a huge trawl of local CCTV and carried out extensive doorstep enquiries as they worked to identify and trace the two arsonists. Tatters and Francis had travelled from Stoke in a VW Golf registered to Francis before parking up outside East Park a short distance from Plascom Road at about 1am. Digital evidence was used to track their movements that night. Detectives found that two hours after the fire was started, Tatters attended hospital in Stoke with cuts to his hand which were treated and he was discharged. A cigarette lighter found discarded on the driveway was forensically linked to Tatters, who later confirmed in court that the lighter belonged to him. Tatters, aged 26, and Dale, aged 37, had both denied murder but following a three week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court a jury found them guilty. They were also convicted of three counts of attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life. Tatters of Ralph Street, Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent and Francis of Clare Street, Basford, Stoke-on-Trent will be sentenced on Thursday. Senior Investigating Officer Jenny Birch from our homicide unit, said: "This was a callous and unprovoked attack on people who were asleep in the safety of their own home. "Our investigation team have worked tirelessly to gather the evidence which has led to these convictions. Both these men played their part in this tragic event and both are accountable for the awful consequences. "Whilst we know that nothing will ever bring Akashdeep back, we hope that knowing those involved will answer for the consequences of their actions will provide some solace to his family and friends. "Our thoughts remain with Akashdeep’s family who continue to try to come to terms with their loss as well as their own injuries."
#LifeorKnife – the choice is yours, is a campaign by West Midlands Police.It follows a number of stabbings in our region where young people have lost their lives or been handed a life sentence.#LifeorKnife isn’t about telling young people what is right or wrong, but showcasing the realities of knife crime, the significant impact it can have and highlighting the importance of choices.We are playing our part in tackling knife crime, from operational activity aimed at reducing the number of knives on our streets to educational inputs in schools.We cannot do it alone – we need help from the community and parents in tackling knife crime.
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#LocalPolicing | We’re changing the way we work in your local area, with more officers based locally. A new local policing model will better serve communities across seven policing areas; Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Each local policing area (LPA) will be led by a Chief Superintendent commander who will understand the issues that matter to communities in their area and have greater control over how they use their resources to meet local needs better. Response and investigation teams will now be based at the same local police hubs as neighbourhood officers, meaning they can work more closely together to prevent and solve crime and keep people safe. This means more officers spending more time understanding and preventing local problems as well as addressing the issues that really matter to communities.  Learn more here: https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/news/more-officers-spending-more-time-local-communities-were-changing-how-we-work-better-serve-you