Golders Green arson: Four men admit destroying Jewish community ambulances

The attack took place in March

Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, and Judex Atshatshi and Saif Ali, both 18, admitted destroying property being reckless whether life would be endangered at the Old Bailey.

What the court heard about the Golders Green arson

The attack took place in the early hours of 23 March, when four vehicles run by the volunteer charity Hatzola were set alight.

The court heard that three of the men started the fires while a fourth waited in a nearby car, while inside gas canisters exploded.

The BBC reported that each vehicle was worth £250,000, and the blaze also destroyed four charging stations and cables costing about £5,000 each.

According to the prosecutors, the incident was a targeted attack on the Jewish community.

Leo Seelig, prosecuting, said the CPS would argue the men should be sentenced on the basis that the attack was related to terrorism.

Mrs Justice Cheema Grubb said she would not rule on that at this stage, with defence counsel arguing there was no evidence of such a connection.

Sentencing delayed until next spring

The four will be sentenced after the trial of a fifth man, Subhan Ahmed, who denies assisting an offender.

Iqbal and Khan, of Leyton, Atshatshi, of Dagenham, and Ali, of Walthamstow, were remanded into custody.

Hatzola, which is Hebrew for save or rescue, has served Golders Green since 1979, providing free emergency medical response by volunteer medics regardless of the patient's faith.

Whether a "terrorist connection" applies at sentencing has become a live question in recent cases, including after Palestine Action was designated a terrorist group by the US.

Separately this week, cars were set on fire at a vigil in County Durham.