A 60-year-old who wickedly set fire to a house in a bid to murder the two occupants has been jailed for life.

In what was described as an "unimaginably brutal and callous" act, Duncan Hornby poured petrol throughout the Faversham property and then waited several minutes for the fumes to build up before igniting them.

The result was a massive explosion and inferno in the early hours of July 6 last year which destroyed the terraced house and damaged three neighbouring homes.

The intended victims of the murder bid were forced to jump to save their lives, one from an upstairs window and another through a hole caused by the blast in a wall.

It was later discovered the accelerant, which Hornby had retrieved from a rear garden outbuilding, had been poured in several places, including at the bottom of the stairs and on the landing.

Hornby, of no fixed address but from Faversham, ran away and hid on marshes until he was found and arrested 17 hours later.

He went on trial at Maidstone Crown Court earlier this year, where he denied two offences of attempted murder but was convicted by a jury.

Appearing for sentence on Friday, Hornby - dressed in jeans and a Marvel T-shirt - represented himself, having dispensed with his legal team.

He maintained, as he did when he gave evidence, that he had never intended to harm the people in the house.

But his account was rejected, with Judge Julian Smith telling him his only focus that night had been to kill his victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Ordering that he serve a minimum term of 20 years less time already spent on remand, he said the fact the occupants had escaped, and relatively unscathed physically, from the blaze, was simply good fortune, and the impact of Hornby's "cruel crime" would have long-term psychological consequences.

"He was focused and his actions were deliberate. He planned what he was going to do in advance," remarked Judge Smith.

"This was an extraordinary and exceptional incident. It was planned and calculated. He intended to murder....in an almost unimaginably brutal and callous way.

"It is hard to contemplate more serious offending than this. What he has done here is utterly horrifying."

Hornby was described in reports for the court as a misogynist displaying narcissistic traits, with no insight into his offending and someone who viewed himself as a victim and "never to blame".

It was also said that although he may have been depressed, he was not suffering from any mental disorders which may have triggered his drastic, potentially fatal, action that night.

On remarking that only a life sentence was warranted, Judge Smith concluded that Hornby was at high risk of reoffending and posed a very high risk of causing serious harm to the public.

"The danger he poses is of the gravest kind and is ongoing. He doesn't acknowledge fully what he has done," he said.

"It has to be a life sentence because no lesser sentence is appropriate."

At the time of Friday's hearing, Hornby had already served 427 days on remand, which count towards his 20-year minimum term.

He was therefore told as he stood in the dock that he could apply for release in 18 years and 304 days' time, but even then any decision to free him would have to be made by the Parole Board.

Before his trial in January, Hornby had admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered in respect of those occupying the neighbouring houses.

Mitigating for himself at his sentencing, he referred to events that night as "an apocalypse", said he was "deeply sorry" for the harm caused but argued he was "still being portrayed as the bad guy".

It is hard to contemplate more serious offending than this. What he has done here is utterly horrifying...

Prosecutor Amy Nicholson told the court the defendant set fire to the house at 3.46am, with a 999 call being made by neighbours just seconds later after they were woken by the sound of the explosion and debris being scattered on the street.

The blast blew out the front of the house, which was engulfed in flames. One occupant, who narrowly missed being hit in the head by falling masonry, jumped 8ft to the ground below, fracturing their foot.

The other escaped from a rear window and onto a trampoline. Sadly, a dog in the house at the time perished.

Residents were forced to flee the adjacent terraces, three of which were extensively damaged by the fire, smoke and water.

The court heard the financial loss was significant, with not all of the total sum being covered by insurance.

Hornby himself escaped and was not arrested until the following day after being found hiding in a bird hut in Oare.

Ms Nicholson said it was not possible to determine whether there was one or multiple points of fire origin but a fire service dog detected several locations where the accelerant had been used.

These included the bottom of the stairs, the landing, the cellar and the ground-floor dining room.

Hornby, who suffered minor singeing to his beard and arm hair, later recalled at his trial that he had deposited four litres of petrol from a five-litre can.

He also claimed that he was subject to "disorganised thinking" at the time before he "came to" at the sound of a dog barking and found himself surrounded by flames.

But the court was told there was no doubt he had intended to kill and that, as an experienced mountaineer, "risk management was his forte" and he "always thought everything through".

"The prosecution case was that this was a planned, deliberate act which the defendant gave considerable thought to, and to which the jury agreed," said Ms Nicholson.

Hornby, who has no previous convictions or cautions, disputed he was a narcissist and misogynist, and in maintaining his innocence said it was an "absolute horror" to be accused of attempting to murder anyone.

He also criticised the fire expert's report as to how the explosion occurred, its resulting destructiveness, and the suggestion that having poured the petrol he waited up to 20 minutes for the fumes to develop before setting it ablaze.

"I'm incredibly sorry for all the damage I have done to all their houses," Hornby said in respect of those living in the row of terraces.

"I am appalled by what happened, I really am. It's not in my nature to go around causing trouble for people but, at some level, something in my head just stopped working.

If I could turn the clock back and understand what was happening, it never would have happened...

"I cannot apologise enough for the trauma I caused – it was just disorganised thinking.

"I'm desperately sorry. It never should have happened. If I could turn the clock back and understand what was happening, it never would have happened.

"I'm deeply, deeply remorseful at setting the fire without fully grasping what was happening."

Asked about his intent to kill the occupants and the risk of danger he posed, he added: "I don't accept that. It's so out of character.

"I have never done anything like that before...I don't believe I am (dangerous), I genuinely don't. I have never committed an offence before."