TWO men who hatched a plot to torch a town centre takeaway and caused nearly £300,000 of damage have been sentenced to three years in prison.

Zaheer Ali, 25, of Lancaster Place, Blackburn and Majid Hussain, also 25, of Montague Street, Blackburn, were given the 'lengthy' sentence at Preston Crown Court for the arson attack on Heena takeaway in Bank Top last May.

A jury found them guilty of arson, being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, in August this year.

Judge Michael Byrne said the attack was a "premeditated, planned and well executed" plot to cash in on a £25,000 insurance policy.

And he rejected a call by the defence to refute the jury's decision.

The court heard that Ali was the proprietor of the restaurant and had bought the property on a 10-year lease.

A total of £282,000-worth of damage was caused to three premises from the explosion -- strong enough to shake Blackburn town centre -- namely Heena takeaway, Aji Bar greengrocers and plumber Joshua Grimshaw Ltd.

The explosion was caused from a mixture of gas and petrol in the shop, which left Hussain hospitalised for eight days with a fractured skull and burns.

During the trial, assistant divisional officer Michael Holmes, told the court that gas taps on a cooker had been left switched on. A petrol container was also found in Ali's car.

Before passing sentence, the validity of the jury's verdict was called into question by Ali's defence barrister Ahmed Nadim.

He invited the judge to make the 'rare and unusual' move of overturning the jury's decision on the basis that the evidence that had been submitted by Hussain was 'untruthful.'

The court then heard that Ali had not carried out the arson for his own gain, as the jury had previously been told. The court was also told that Hussain had moreover set fire to the takeaway 'in collusion' with another party -- the landlord.

But the judge dismissed the application. He said: "There is no basis that the evidence brought before the jury was insufficient, unsafe or unsatisfactory and I therefore have no jurisdiction to impugn the verdict." In mitigation, defence barrister Philip Andrews described Hussain as the 'match man' and made reference to the proverb: "Those who play with fire get burnt."

But he asked the judge for leniency and said: "There were a far more serious set of affairs than was ever anticipated. My client was fortunate to have emerged with his life."

The defence for Ali described him as a 'victim' and asked the judge to take into consideration his role as a father to four children.

He said the incident had caused 'shame and embarrassment' to his family.

Ten members attended the trial from the men's families but they were 'too upset' to comment.