Arsonist firebombed GP surgery after doctors refused to give him heroin
Richard Naylor, 50, of Haggis Gap in Fulbourn, firebombed a GP surgery at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic after doctors refused to prescribe him with heroin - Credit: Cambridgeshire Constabulary/Archant
A man set fire to a Cambridgeshire GP surgery after he was denied heroin.
Richard Naylor, aged 50, targeted Fulbourn Health Centre in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when he threw homemade petrol bombs into the building on July 27, 2021.
The arsonist, from Haggis Gap in Fulbourn, had previously made threats to burn the surgery down if he wasn't given heroin as medication.
He was given an indefinite hospital order at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday, May 23.
He previously pleaded guilty to threatening to destroy or damage property, and arson.
Detective Constable Sarah Longbottom, who investigated from Cambridgeshire Police, said: "Naylor targeted a busy doctor’s surgery in the height of a pandemic.
"The surgery was one of the main hubs for issuing Covid vaccines in the area.
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"The surgery was extensively damaged throughout and as a result of his actions, doctors, staff and patients were unable to use the surgery and had to be transferred elsewhere for a prolonged period of time."
Naylor was seen throwing homemade petrol bombs into Fulbourn Health Centre in the early hours of July 27.
Emergency services were called to the scene after witnesses, who heard the alarm, saw a fire erupting from within.
CCTV footage revealed he had walked to a nearby petrol station just hours before and filled up a petrol cannister.
He took the fuel home and decanted it into smaller bottles.
An investigation by Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service found that he had sprayed a fire accelerant in the building from two washing up bottles beforehand.
When police officers arrived, he swung a metal pole at them, telling them he had made "petrol bombs to burn down the surgery".
DC Ali Kent, of Cambridgeshire Police, explained that as well as a hospital order, only the Ministry of Justice will be able to authorise his release in the future.
DC Kent said: "Due to the potential danger posed by Naylor, the Judge has given him an indefinite hospital order as well as adding a section 41 order which means the Ministry of Justice will be required to authorise his release."