Arsonists who put lives at risk when they torched a car parked outside its owner’s home in a revenge attack have been locked up.

Sam Murphy, 20, from Faversham, and his 17-year-old accomplice from Ashford engulfed the BMW in flames after dowsing the interior with accelerant in July last year.

Both were handed a combined total of three-and-a-half-years in a young offenders institution at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also handed four months to run concurrently after pleading guilty to harassment with fear of violence.

The arsonists attacked the car in Whitstable at the height of a campaign of harassment against a teenage girl, who had recently ended a relationship with the 17-year-old.

Firefighters had to beat back flames which burned metres from the family home, causing damage costing £7,400.

After the relationship soured in early 2020, the 17-year-old told his ex he would “make her life hell,” prosecutors explained.

"The car could have exploded with my daughter’s bedroom right by where the car was parked, it could have killed her..."

“(She) describes the relationship as, effectively, controlling from the outside,” prosecutor Ben Irwin explained.

“She tells of him phoning her constantly and describes him as becoming angry if she didn’t reply to his messages,” he added.

He would subject her to threats of violence and emotional blackmail, claiming he would vandalise her father’s car.

Then on July 5, the girl woke to the sound of a loud bang outside her window, and saw her father’s car ablaze, the court heard.

“CCTV showed one male smash the car window, that was Sam, and the other set the car on fire,” Mr Irwin explained.

The victims told the court of their trauma in the aftermath of the pair's actions.

“Life has been incredibly difficult for me, my mental health has really suffered," the girl said.

“It has made me desperate at times, carrying alarms, having my home fitted with alarms, it has been terrifying.”

Her father added: “The car could have exploded with my daughter’s bedroom right by where the car was parked, it could have killed her.”

Mitigating for the 17-year-old, John Fitzgerald explained he was just 16 at the time of the offence, had entered early guilty pleas, was of previous good character and had remained out of trouble.

Phil Rowley, mitigating for Murphy, said he was genuinely remorseful and expressed “real regret”.

“What is apparent is he recognises this conduct that is utterly stupid and he must take responsibility for his wrongdoing,” he added.

Sentencing, Judge Simon James told the duo the “arson was committed with a total disregard as to whether life would be endangered”.

Murphy, of Selling, near Faversham, was sentenced to two years, while the 17-year-old from Ashford will be held for 18 months.