A THREATENING tenant turned on his landlords and attempted to set them on fire using a handmade flame thrower.

Piergiuliono Atzori rented a room at a property in Latchford and became enraged when the owners issued him with an eviction notice for ‘abusive and threatening behaviour’.

Prosecuting, Joanne Maxwell said on March 7 this year a 999 call was made by the female landlord of a property on Minerva Close reporting that a tenant had ‘tried to set her on fire’.

The claimants had visited the house to conduct a full clean of the property.

Ms Maxwell told Liverpool Crown Court how the 31-year-old defendant had shouted the victim’s name in the hallway to coax her over to his room, before using a deodorant can and lighter to ignite a ‘projectile flame’ in the face of the victim.

“She was fearful of her life. She ran out of the building and made the call to the police,” Ms Maxwell explained.

A man, also a landlord at the property, heard the commotion and came out to face the defendant.

Atzori again used his make-shift flame thrower, pointing the flame in the direction of the victim forcing him to hide behind a door.

The offenders crazed actions continued as his tried to ignite the flame through the gap in the door towards where his victim was hiding.

Eventually the claimant was able to come out from behind the door and punched the defendant to the floor, while another tenant came out to help restrain him until the police arrived.

Previous to this incident, after Atzori had received a warning from his landlords, he had sent a barrage of abusive text messages.

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, the woman said:

“On the day, we were cleaning and out of the blue he came at me with the flame thrower.

“I am suffering with anxiety. My husband was injured from the attack and now suffers with anxiety too. He has left us feeling very vulnerable.”

Ms Maxwell described Atzori as a ‘man out of control’ with ‘serious mental health issues’.

Damages to the property as a result of the incident amounted to £1,500.

A medical professional made a psychiatric analysis of the defendant where he concluded that Atzori as well as potentially being under the influence of drugs and alcohol during the incident, may also have been having a psychotic episode, but was aware of the seriousness of his actions at the time.

“The family has been effected by this and they are concerned that when he leaves custody, he may look to seek revenge,” Ms Maxwell added.

The defendant has one previous conviction relating to threatening behaviour dating back to 2019.

Defending, Simon Christie said: “It is abundantly clear that the defendant has significant mental health issues.

“He has been in custody since March 8. He has not found this an easy experience.”

Concluding, Recorder David Knifton said: “As a reaction to your volatile and threatening behaviour you were issued an eviction notice.

“You responded to this by sending a barrage of threatening messages.

“In her witness statement, your landlord said the flame came within inches of her face.

“Both landlords were absolutely terrified and feared for their lives.

“You were also found with a Stanley knife when police searched you.”

The defendant was served a two-year custodial sentence for each offence of threatening a person with an offensive weapon, equating to four years, of which he will serve half of before being released on licence.

A restraining order was also put in place to not go near either victims or their address on Minerva Close.