Teenage arsonist who set fire to a taxi, three buses and a lorry detained for four years
A teenage arsonist who caused a £700,000 blaze for a "thrill" on his 15th birthday has been sentenced to four years detention at Cardiff Crown Court.
Schoolboy James Proctor started two arson attacks in the first three hours of his birthday after having "fantasies" over seeing vehicles on fire.
Proctor used a cigarette lighter to set fire to a taxi parked in the street just after midnight - and watched it burn.
Then he sneaked into the Newport Transport depot on Corporation Road in Maindee, Newport, to use paper dowsed with fuel to torch three commuter buses and a lorry.
Prosecutor John Probert said: "He started two fires between 1am and 3am on the morning of December 3 which was his birthday.
"A Peugeot Expert taxi worth £8,000 was set on fire before he went to the bus depot at around 3am.
"Proctor destroyed three buses and a lorry worth a total of £503,000.
"There was damage to a building at the depot and estimates put the total damage at around £700,000.
"A block of 12 flats nearby also had to be evacuated as the flames were licking above the depot."
Proctor, 15, fled from the Newport Transport depot in Newport, South Wales, but was spotted by a police officer.
Mr Probert said: "A cigarette lighter was found in his waistband but he denied starting the fire."
Cardiff Crown Court heard Proctor blamed a former schoolfriend for starting the fire. But
police inquiries revealed the boy was "tucked up in bed in Bristol".
CCTV footage showed Proctor at the depot where two single deckers, a double decker and a training vehicle were destroyed.
The court heard Proctor had been on medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder since the age of just five.
Stephen Thomas, defending, said: "He is a significantly troubled young man and had been consuming alcohol and smoking cannabis.
"He thinks about what he did every day and he won't be drinking any more."
Judge Neil Bidder QC lifted restrictions to allow Proctor to be named and shamed for his crimes.
He said: "You have admitted you have fantasies about fire and you have lit fires in the past.
"You committed this offence for the thrill of it."
Proctor, of Frampton Cotterell, Gloucestershire, was sentenced to four years youth detention after admitting two counts of arson and being reckless in endangering lives.
Read more: Wales Online http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... z2NdRhkj2D
