A TEENAGER has been jailed for four years after throwing a petrol bomb at a Bolton nightclub.

And a second youth was jailed for two years for his part in the attack at the Ikon club in the town centre.

Tommy Dawson, aged 18, set fire to a bottle of petrol before hurling it into the foyer of the club -- where 400 clubbers were enjoying a night out.

A man was engulfed in flames and the bomb created a five-foot line of fire.

Dawson had earlier threatened security guards that he was going to "burn the club down", Preston Crown Court was told.

In the end, the fire was extinguished by quick-acting staff.

Dawson, of Romiley Drive, Breightmet, had been thrown out of the nightspot by doormen because of his aggressive behaviour in the early hours of Wednesday, March 3.

Outside, Dawson bumped into a friend, Ashley Smith, aged 19, of Torrington Avenue, Halliwell, who had been barred from Ikon two weeks previously.

The two teenagers got a lift to a service station in Kay Street where they bought a drink, drank it, filled the bottle with 36p worth of petrol and returned to the club in St Georges Road, Bolton.

Dawson put a paper wick in the top of the bottle, lit it and threw the bomb at the foyer of the club.

Staff managed to extinguish the fire before it could cause any serious damage. One man had his hair singed, but there were no reports of any injuries.

Dawson was sentenced to four years in a Young Offenders Institution after pleading guilty to arson, being reckless whether life would be endangered, one month for theft of the petrol and a further 12 months for the breach of a licence.

Smith was locked up for two years in a Young Offenders Institution after pleading guilty to possessing an item with intent to cause damage, and one month for theft to run concurrently. He also received two months for the breach of a community punishment order to run consecutively.

Judge Derwin Hope said: "You were totally reckless as to whether the lives of the people inside were put in danger.

"The public have to be protected and others must be deterred from thinking about constructing or using petrol bombs."

Prosecutor Paul Treble said there were around 400 people inside the club at the time of the bombing.

"A member of the security staff described seeing the explosion. He said he heard a 'whoosh' sound, felt intense heat behind him and saw a five-foot line of fire," said Mr Treble. "An innocent person stood in the doorway and was engulfed in the flames. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured."

The court heard Dawson was arrested 15 minutes later in Kay Street and Smith was arrested a short time later.

Graham Robinson, defending, said the amount of petrol involved was very small.

"The risk to the people in the club was negligible," he said. "Dawson is aware that his binge drinking leads him to commit serious offences. Smith admitted assisting Dawson but thought he was just going to cause damage."

Det Con Rick Armstrong said after the hearing: "This was a wicked offence and it is only by the grace of God that nobody was seriously injured."

"The possible consequences of throwing a petrol bomb into the foyer of a crowded nightclub at closing time as people are leaving do not bear thought.

"These men did not stop for one second to think about the consequences of their actions and the potential danger that they caused."

Fortunately they did not cause any serious harm or they would both now be facing a much lengthier sentence.

"This type of behaviour will not be tolerated and myself and my colleagues will strive to eradicate such mindless acts to make the town a safer for people who genuinely want to enjoy themselves on a night out."

The court heard Dawson had previously been sentenced to three years in December 2002 for his role in the stabbing of a taxi driver in the head during a racial attack and was released 12 months later. Ajiab Khan was lured to an empty house and ordered to drive to secluded part of Bolton where he was attacked by Dawson and a friend.