Mairead Philpott to appeal against 17-year jail sentence Mairead and Mick Philpott appeal for witnesses to the house fire in Allenton, Derby, in which her six children died. A mother jailed for 17 years for killing her six children in a house fire is to appeal against the length of her sentence, her lawyer have said. Mairead Philpott, 32, was jailed alongside her husband, Mick, at Nottingham crown court last month after being found guilty of the manslaughter of Jade Philpott and her brothers John, Jack, Jesse, Jayden and Duwayne. At the sentencing hearing, Mrs Justice Thirlwall told Mairead Philpott she had ignored obvious risks to her children's lives by going along with a plan to set fire to her home in Allenton, Derby. Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham on Sunday, Shaun Smith QC, defending, confirmed that lawyers planned to take the case to the court of appeal. Smith, who represented Mairead Philpott during her trial, said of the 17-year jail term: "We think it was too long and we are going to the court of appeal to see whether or not we can persuade [it] to reduce the sentence. She was instrumental in killing six children, but we feel as though her role in the killing of the six children was not as substantial as the trial judge has assessed.