Man who assaulted two women and set room alight convicted

A man who assaulted two women while armed with a bottle and set his room alight in Burton-on-Trent has been convicted.

Kyle Purcell, 21, of Burton-on-Trent, was found guilty following a trial that ended at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday (11 September).

On 11 March this year, Purcell approached a woman from behind on Station Street at 9.10pm and pushed her to the ground. The woman turned over to see Purcell, who was clutching a bottle of beer in his hand. He threw it at the woman but missed her. It shattered on the floor just behind her as she moved to protect herself.

The victim wasn’t seriously injured but was left distressed by the assault.  

Then, within minutes, Purcell approached another woman. She was getting into an Uber after finishing work when he ran across the road at her. He grabbed her, stopped her from getting in, and swung a bottle at her head. The victim managed to move out of the way to stop the bottle from hitting her. Purcell then ran off.

When Purcell went back to his flat, he set fire to it. Colleagues from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service went to the scene and quickly extinguished it, and thankfully no one in the building was injured.

We captured all of the evidence needed to charge Purcell with two counts of assault by beating, one count of threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a public place and one count of arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.

DC Reece Hingley, from our criminal investigations department, said: “Purcell assaulted and threatened two women who were alone at night and put himself and others in serious danger when he set a fire in his room.

“Although he did not cause serious injuries with his offending, his actions will no doubt have a lasting effect on the victims and could have easily resulted in far more serious physical harm.”

Rob Horton, from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Fires in houses of multiple occupation can have serious consequences for other residents sharing the property.

“Thankfully on this occasion, we were able to respond promptly to the threat and stop the fire from spreading around the building. The fire alarm system alerted the other residents of the fire and allowed them to move to safety."

Following his conviction, Purcell has been remanded in custody ahead of his sentencing date at Stafford Crown Court on 10 November 2025.