By Hayley Robinson

The ex-partner of arsonist Alisdair Gray has opened her heart and revealed the tragic events leading up to the moment he blew up their house.

Gray, 38, was jailed for six years last week after admitting arson and being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Jane Thornton, 38, who broke up with Gray the Monday before the explosion, was at work at MacDonald Mailing, in Sittingbourne, when she had a call from her neighbour on the morning of April 28, 2009, telling her she needed to get home quickly as her house was on fire.

She arrived in Recreation Way, Kemsley, and could not believe the devastation in front of her.

Gray was sitting in the back of an ambulance when she spotted him.

"I knew straight away he'd done it," she said. "I tried to drag him out of it and I was screaming at him.

“I couldn’t see much to start with due to the smoke but when I could see what had happened it was just awful. All I could think about was the dog.”

Miss Thornton said they had enjoyed a whirlwind romance and moved in together within months of meeting each other.

She soon discovered she was pregnant but 13 weeks into her pregnancy she miscarried and the cracks in their relationship began to appear.

Miss Thornton said: “I stayed with him because I didn’t want to upset my family. My dad adored him so it was hard. It wasn’t until my dad passed away the previous November that I felt strong enough to leave him.

“It wasn’t working we were rowing a lot and he admitted it wasn’t working. We were still living together in the same house but sleeping in different rooms. We had a mortgage and we were planning to sell the house. I never expected him to do anything like this.

“He carried my dad’s coffin at his funeral. They trusted him.”

Miss Thornton has not been in a relationship since splitting with Gray. She said: “It’s made me very wary.”