Three teens plead guilty to arson after setting fire to Sheffield Pets At Home on St James Retail Park
Three teenagers who deliberately ignited pallets behind a Pets At Home store in Sheffield's St James Retail Park caused substantial property damage in an incident on May 24, 2025. The fire, which broke out at 7:45pm, drew emergency response from three fire crews operating from Doncaster and Maltby stations, who remained on site for more than five hours to bring the blaze under control.
All three young offenders have now admitted to arson charges through Sheffield Crown Court, with two having pleaded guilty to arson involving reckless endangerment of life at an earlier hearing and the third entering their guilty plea in early July 2026. The fire resulted in £192,000 of damage to the premises, and the court will determine sentences for the three defendants on September 18, 2026, with the youngest having been only 14 years old when the fire occurred.
- Three teenagers pleaded guilty to deliberately setting fire to a Pets At Home store in Sheffield on May 24, 2025, causing £192,000 in damage
- Fire crews from two stations spent over five hours extinguishing the blaze that was started by igniting pallets at the rear of the building
- Two teens had previously entered guilty pleas; the third did so in July 2026. Sentencing scheduled for September 18, 2026; youngest offender was 14 at time of incident