TWO brothers set fire to a gym owner’s car - and nearly his home - in an act of revenge.

Craig and Aaron Johnson threw ignited beer bottles, full of petrol, onto Wayne Todd’s BMW Six Series outside his home in High Road, Laindon.

The thugs carried out the attack in response to Craig Johnson’s Mercedes being damaged when he brazenly left it in the car park of Agila Gym in Billericay - which Mr Todd owns - while he took his family to Disneyland Paris.

Today, Raj Joshi, prosecuting at Basildon Crown Court, told how staff at the gym believed the car had been abandoned and had brought a tow truck to remove it on October 17 last year as Johnson returned.

He said: “At 3.30pm, Craig Johnson entered the gym and was shouting about the fact his car had been damaged and made threats to the staff and gym owner, saying he knew where he lived and he would burn his house down.”

CCTV later recorded Johnson buying bottles of Brooklyn Scorcher IPA beer at a petrol station at about 6.43pm and then walking towards High Road, arriving at Mr Todd’s address at 6.55pm.

Mr Joshi said: “Catherine Todd, the partner of Wayne, was sat in her living room when she saw a bright flash and looked around, saw her living room window was smashed and a broken bottle on the floor. She could smell petrol, but the bottle failed to ignite. Mr Todd and his grown-up children found his car on fire, and tried to extinguish it.

“The defendants were later arrested after ANPR cameras identified Aaron Johnson’s red Audi leaving the scene and going into Kent.”

Mitigating for Craig, Christopher Kirk said he had committed a “reprehensible” crime where he had “snapped”, and that it was out of character, saying he has two children and is in a stable relationship.

Mitigation for Aaron said he admits he should have refused to help his brother in a matter that was “nothing to do with him”.

Addressing the brothers, Judge John Lodge said he “could not accept” the attack was a spur of the moment decision as it had been planned over the course of several hours.

He said: “At a number of points throughout the day someone with your clear intelligence and abilities could have gone ‘hang on, I’m being stupid’, but you chose not to do so.”

Craig, 27, of Halesworth Road, Romford, was jailed for two years and four months for two counts of arson by being reckless and putting life in danger and attempted arson, and Aaron, 32, of the same address, received 18 months for the same charges.