Guilty of fire pit attack

A MAN who tossed a bottle of petrol into a fire pit surrounded by four people at a Saltwater River shack will next week be sentenced over the “stupid drunken act”.

David Raymond Oxley, 63, yesterday pleaded guilty to one count of committing an unlawful act with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm to Stewart Mason.

Police prosecutor Madel- eine Carter said Mr Mason and his wife were sharing a drink with two friends around a fire pit when the incident unfolded just after 10pm on New Year’s Day.

“The accused arrived carrying a drink and was clearly intoxicated,” she said.

“Mr Mason told him not to cause any trouble and to go away.”

Ms Carter said Mr Oxley left immediately, before returning to the area a few min- utes later carrying a bottle.

When asked by a neighbour what he was doing he told them “I’m going to blow these c…s up”, the court heard.

“The accused ran in between the fire pit and he squirted liquid out of a container towards everyone,” she said.

“The accused then threw the bottle in the fire pit. This caused the container to burst into flames, with the flames rising at least two metres above the fire pit. The ground around the fire pit was also alight.”

Mr Mason’s pants briefly caught fire and the hair and eyebrows of two others were singed but no one suffered lasting injuries from the flames.

Ms Carter said one of the men sitting at the fire chased after Mr Oxley, pushing him to the ground and punching him to the side of the head, before his daughter arrived to pick him up.

The court heard Mr Oxley told police he chucked the fuel in the fire because Mr Mason had called him a “scumbag” and told him to “f...k off”.

He denied the petrol landed on any of the people around the fire, believing they had “all got together and worked out what to say”, Ms Carter said.

Defence lawyer Philippa Morgan said Mr Oxley and Mr Mason had known each for about 20 years.

“There have been times of disgruntled feelings back and forth, but in my submission, there’s really been no term grudges,” she said.

“The regret and shame Mr Oxley feels for his actions run extremely deep. Each looming court date has filled him with dread. This was a stupid drunken act that could have had serious consequences, but luckily has not.”

Acting Justice David Porter remanded Mr Oxley in custody to reappear in the Supreme Court in Hobart for sentencing on August 8. long-