A Glenrothes landlord is in disbelief after a man was cleared by a jury of torching the flat above his pub.
Thomas Kerr denied wilfully setting fire to combustible materials in a bedroom above the Woodside Inn and causing the blaze on May 6 2022.
Photographs of the severely fire-damaged rooms inside the Woodside Way property were shown to jurors during a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
A fire investigator concluded it was likely to have been started deliberately but the jury – the second to hear evidence – deliberated for about 40 minutes on Thursday before finding the case not proven and Kerr, of Mackie Avenue, Leven, was acquitted.
Landlord George Stewart, who has run the Woodside Inn for 17 years, described the outcome as “unbelievable”.
The 72-year-old said the verdict leaves an element of doubt – although not in his mind.
“I feel like the justice system has let me down,” he said.
“It has not settled anything because we are still in limbo, as we were before the two court cases.”
Mr Stewart, an ex-joiner, gave figures in court for the cost of repairs of £167,000 and £234,000 and said although work has started, it is not yet complete.
‘Devastation’
Giving evidence during the trial, Mr Stewart said Kerr was a tenant in the flat for between 12 and 18 months before the fire.
There had been rent arrears and in April 2022 an eviction notice was served.
The trial heard Kerr told police he locked the flat earlier in the night and went to a friend’s house, drank alcohol, then returned to the flat to find fire and smoke in a bedroom.
CCTV from outside the pub, played in court, showed Kerr walking towards the flat at about 7.30am on the morning of the fire.
Kerr, 45, then made a 999 call to the fire service at 7.33am.
Firefighters arrived to see thick smoke coming out of the windows and the roof space and four appliances were used to tackle the blaze.
Mr Stewart arrived a short time later to see flames about 10 to 15-feet above the flat roof and described Kerr sitting in an ambulance and “out of his box,” “irrational” and “definitely drunk”.
He had initially been alerted by Kerr, who called him on the phone and said: “George, what the f**k is going on? The flat is on fire”.
A fire service incident commander at the scene said an ambulance was called because Kerr, whom he described as “quite frantic” and likely under the influence of alcohol, had gone back into the burning building.
Mr Stewart said he found “devastation” when he was allowed back into his flat a few days later, describing one of the rooms as “completely burnt out” and the entire flat as blackened.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service fire investigation officer Craig Cardno told the trial the fire started “to the right hand side” of one of the bedrooms – ascertained by where most fire damage was on the wall and ceiling – but he could not be any more specific about its point of origin.
He said he ruled out electrical systems as the source as no appliances were plugged in and energised and there were no issues with the distribution box.
Mr Cardno said the sockets he examined in the bedroom were black on the outside, as opposed to showing burning in between the sockets which would be more indicative of an electrical fault behind them.
He said that in another bedroom he found two containers holding some liquid – each with odours similar to petrol and diesel – but they did not appear to have been disturbed.
Mr Cardno also found no evidence of a discarded cigarette and said the fire was “likely a deliberate act” through the “application of a naked flame to a combustible material.”
Defence lawyer David McLaughlin highlighted evidence of how the fire started could have been destroyed in the blaze and Mr Cardno replied there was “nothing viable there that would be another ignition source”.
The solicitor asked about the possibility of focused sunlight causing the fire, which Mr Cardno said was a “possible cause” but later in evidence said it was not viable at that time of morning.
Police questioning
Detectives had quizzed Kerr on why it took him until three minutes after arriving at the flat to raise the alarm.
Kerr said this was “just a rough time” and said: “Is that not quick enough?”
He repeatedly denied during police interviewing he had been responsible.
Kerr, who had a hand injury at the scene, said at one point he had a “stupid thought” and went back in the burning flat to get a cot – which he failed to do – and decided to punch a window.
Mr Stewart said the windows were triple glazed.
Original trial
Kerr’s trial initially started in Kirkcaldy in November but collapsed after a juror, Scott Nelson, began making personal enquiries.
He was later fined £750 by a sheriff after being found in contempt of court.
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