AN ENFIELD man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson following a fatal fire at a tattoo parlour.

Lee Black, 32, of Ripley Road, Enfield, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to the attack which killed David Leggett, 52 last summer.

The attack took place at Sacred Spirit tattoo parlour, in Lancaster Road, where Black was employed, on August 11, 2007.

Police were called at 5.30am that Saturday morning following reports of an explosion and a blaze in the three-storey building, which included two floors of residential accommodation.

Three people, two women aged 54 and 27 and a 25 year old man were rushed to hospital suffering severe burns.

Although they survived the fire, it is understood that they are permanently scarred and will require treatment for the rest of their lives.

The body of Mr Leggett, a builder from Potters Bar, was recovered from the rubble on the evening of August 12 with a post mortem later revealing that he died from smoke inhalation.

The court heard that Black broke into the building via a small back window before dousing the premises in petrol and starting a fire which ignited and blew out the front of the shop.

A motive for the arson remains unclear, but the court heard that Black had offered to buy the tattoo business from the owner and was unhappy with the selling price.

It is believed that Black thought starting a small fire would bring down the price of the business, but the blaze grew out of hand and resulted in the building collapsing, as well as the death of Mr Leggett.

Witnesses had reported seeing a suspect in a black beanie hat fleeing the scene and jumping into a car.

A hat matching the description was found nearby with Black’s DNA on it.

He had also had been seen on CCTV three days prior to the attack buying 18 litres of petrol from a nearby filling station.

Investigating officer DCI Bob Mahoney, from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, described Black as an “extremely deceitful man who was able to portray himself as an innocent victim to his friends and colleagues”.

He said: “This was a pre-planned attack, which makes it even more callous as he had a friendly conversation with the victims hours before he set light to the building. We believe that his motive was purely financial.

“I hope his plea of guilty will give the victims and their families some comfort and our thoughts are with them.

“Not only have they lost a father and their home, they also have to live with the scars from the fire for the rest of their lives.

He added: “I would like to thank the owner and employees of the tattoo parlour who greatly assisted us during this investigation.

“I also want to thank members of the public who helped the victims on the morning of the explosion, some of whom put themselves in danger to help.”

Black will be sentenced on October 30.

The incident saw a number of other properties damaged, including that of the Nightingale Community Hospice Trust, which was forced to relocate to temporary accommodation.

And two members of the public were rewarded with Enfield Finest awards for their bravery in helping people escape from the blaze.

Pannayiotis Panyiotou and former paramedic Keith Weathersbee went into the building and helped get them to safety.

Mr Panyiotou led one dazed and severely burned person to safety across the roofs of adjacent shops before stopping all road and pedestrian traffic.

And Mr Weathersbee took casualties into his house and cooled their burns in his shower to alleviate the pain.