Fire-raiser moved gas cylinders before starting university blaze

A FIRERAISER caused thousands of pounds worth of damage at a Scottish university, a court has heard.

Jonathan Brown set fire to leaves in a storage area at Queen Margaret University in Musselburgh, East Lothian.

The 33-year-old was spotted on CCTV moving cylinders of helium, butane gas, and C02 out of the way before he lit the blaze, which then spread to a nearby building, causing around £20,000 of damage in the early hours of July 5, 2020.

Brown – who handed himself over to police two days after the incident – pleaded guilty to wilful fire-raising last month. Before sentencing him yesterday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Sheriff Alistair Noble was told the Crown accepted Brown of Edinburgh, had moved the gas canisters away from the fire.

The sheriff noted the offence was ‘a serious matter’ but said he could deal with it in a non-custodial way.

Brown was told he must complete the maximum of 300 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months.