'Frustrated' asylum seeker jailed after setting light to a sofa and assaulted a security guard in Skegness hotel

Musba Missa, 22, started the fire in the communal reception area of the Chatsworth Hotel on May 8.

Lincoln Crown Court was told another resident was sat down in the room but Missa became aggressive and tried to stop a security guard from putting out the blaze.

The small fire was extinguished by another member of staff who entered the room and threw a bottle of water over the sofa.

A short time earlier Missa had been spotted trying to ignite a paper cup with a lighter.

Despite his behaviour Missa was allowed to remain in the hotel and assaulted a security guard just two days later.

On that occasion, CCTV showed Missa wrestling with the security guard and then trying to strike him in the face, leaving the worker with a scratched neck.

The court was told Missa, from Niger, in West Africa, had been in the UK for two years and was frustrated with the progress of his asylum application.

In February 2022, Missa had received a 12-week jail sentence, which was suspended for 12 months, after he admitted offences of Section 4 public disorder, possessing a bladed article and failing to surrender to custody.

Missa, who listened to the court hearing via a French interpreter, admitted two charges of arson and battery relating to the Skegness offences in May this year.

During his police interview after the fire, Missa repeatedly explained that he was upset after a sympathetic member of staff had been moved to another location.

The court was told Missa was later examined by a psychiatrist who decided he was not mentally ill.

Jeremy Janes, in mitigation, told the court Missa had already served the equivalent of five months in jail while on remand, and argued he was suitable for a community sentence.

“He is but 22, he has been in this country for two years, and has struggled to progress his asylum claim, which he still expects to do,” Mr Janes said.

“He simply wants to get back to Skegness, collect his paperwork and pursue his asylum application.”

Mr Janes admitted Missa had become frustrated with the process after a member of staff who he had built up a rapport with was moved to another location.

“It was a cry for help,” Mr Janes added.

Mr Janes also explained that Missa's spell in jail ‘had not been easy’ because of his language difficulties and the uncertainty about where he was going to end up.

Passing sentence, Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight told Missa: “In May 2023 you were living at the Chatsworth Hotel in Skegness awaiting a decision on your asylum claim.

“On May 8 you took a lighter to a sofa in a public area. At the time it was you and another resident in that area.

“Staff walked in and quickly became aware of the small fire.

“A security guard tried to tackle the small fire, but you became aggressive and tried to stop him.

“Another member of staff extinguished the fire with some water.”

Judge Sjolin Knight said Missa's offending was aggravated by his efforts to stop the fire being put out, his previous lighting of a paper cup and the fact his assault on the security guard occurred in the same setting.

“There is a degree of persistence to this,” Judge Sjolin Knight explained.

“You were seeking to get what you wanted by causing damage and risking real harm to others.

“The custody threshold is clearly crossed.”

Judge Sjolin Knight added: “Baring in mind your situation in Skegness I take your behaviour to be borne our of anger and frustration, as Mr Janes calls it, 'a cry for help,' rather than ill health.”

After passing sentence, Judge Sjolin Knight told Missa she expected him to be released very soon because of the time he had already served on remand in custody since May 12.

“I anticipate you are going to be released very soon, but that is a matter for the Prison Service to sort out,” Judge Sjolin Knight concluded.