The Old Bailey heard that Milo Creese, 40, had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and continued to be treated in a mental health unit. The offences were arson with intent to endanger life, two offences of arson, damaging property, having an offensive weapon in public and two assaults on an emergency worker.
The court was told that prosecutor Lyndon Harris had outlined a planned series of acts of 'very serious violence' that damaged the broadband network and could have resulted in fatalities. The court heard Creese held an extreme mindset involving hatred of Muslims.
On 31 October 2025, Creese set fire to an Indian restaurant in Chertsey, Surrey. A member of the public raised the alarm after spotting a smoking stick in the letterbox. The fire was contained by firefighters. Three weeks later, he targeted a telecommunications box at Spinney Hill, Addlestone, where a witness saw him running from a fire against an electrical tower.
The following morning, a control room operator for a company monitoring 5G mast CCTV saw a man light a bin bag and throw it into a compound. Nine minutes later, a resident called police after a crossbow bolt came through her window. Officers tasered Creese as he ran away from them, but to no effect. During a struggle, he hit an officer with the crossbow. A later examination of his computer revealed extreme right-wing ideology and a desire for violence against Muslims.
Prosecutor Lyndon Harris told jurors: 'Mr Creese considered that there was a belief that there was some link between Islam and 5G cell masts, and atrocities that Mr Creese believed certain Muslim people were committing. It is for that reason, the prosecution case is that Mr Creese's actions in setting fire to the various sites in this case were done with a terrorist motivation.'
Creese, who declined to answer police questions or give evidence, accepted the acts alleged but claimed he was mentally unwell. His barrister, James Gray, said he had a delusional belief system and was on a mission to 'save the world'. Judge Richard Marks KC ordered indefinite detention under the Mental Health Act following reports from two psychiatrists.