A drunken firebug destroyed 21 ticket machines in a £130,000 blaze at a Perth city centre car park.
William Black staggered into the Canal Street multi-storey site wearing a vest and carrying a ‘wet floor’ sign, before setting fire to a parked council van.
Three passing youngsters, who spotted smoke coming from the ground floor, raised the alarm.
Black appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted a charge of wilful fire-raising on July 20.
The 47-year-old was described by a sheriff as posing a “significant risk” to the public and warned to expect jail when he is sentenced in the new year.
Explosion
Fiscal depute Lora Apostolova told the court: “At 8.30pm, the accused – wearing black trousers and a vest – walked into the car park.
“It was clear that he was under the influence.”
Black was caught on CCTV. He was seen emptying the contents of his bag onto the floor.
“He then went to the rear of the van and pulled a small item from his pocket,” the prosecutor said.
The white council vehicle contained 21 brand new ticketing machines, worth £5,000 each, the court was told.
“Approximately eight minutes later, smoke was spotted coming from the van, which was parked near ticket machines,” the fiscal depute said.
“The accused was still at the rear of the vehicle.
“He then proceeded to walk away, carrying a wet floor sign.”
She said: “Three young girls observed the fire from the street and entered the car park for a closer look.
“Flames were now visible at the ticket machines.
“The rear van tyre exploded and thick smoke began to spread throughout the car park.”
Emergency services were scrambled to the scene and the surrounding area was locked down.
“After about 25 minutes of using hose jets the fire was put out,” said Ms Apostolova.
“Fire and rescue staff took parking meters out of the way and continued to dampen down any remaining hot spots, using a thermal imaging camera.
“Once the fire was extinguished, they could see that it had been started around the rear of the van.”
Black was later traced, standing outside Perth police station.
He was arrested and found to be in possession of a lighter, the fiscal depute said.
The total cost of the damage caused – including a £10,000 air conditioning unit – was £134,000.
No reason for being there
Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said: “Its quite apparent that he is very much under the influence of something.
“He wanders into the car park, although there is no reason for him being there.
“He seems to be carrying a cleaning sign as he walks to the rear of the vehicle.”
Mr Holmes said: “He would not have known who owned the van and what items it contained.”
Sheriff William Wood deferred sentence until January 19 for the court to consider a supervised release order.
“Setting fire to a public car park does indicate a significant risk to the public,” he said.
“A custodial sentence will be required.”
Hospital rammy
Black also pled guilty to a separate charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner to staff at Perth Royal Infirmary on December 23, 2020.
The court heard Black was taken to Ward 4 after a suspected overdose.
“At the time, the ward was about two-thirds full,” said Ms Apostolova.
“He was given naloxone and was revived very quickly.
“He immediately began shouting and swearing.”
Black told staff: “F*** off, or I’ll smash this place up.”
Efforts were made to calm him down but he continued to rant and swear.
“The accused was scaring other patients,” the fiscal depute said.
“His behaviour continued to escalate and during this time he repeatedly spat on the floor.”
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