Man set 11 cars on fire 'by accident'
Tuesday June 26 2007
A MAN who says he inadvertently set fire to 11 vehicles at an auto spares yard after lighting a cigarette while looking for a replacement car exhaust in the middle of the night has had his sentence adjourned.
Brian Hudson (42), of Kenny's House, Kilgarrif, Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to arson of 11 cars at Southside Motor Spares, Westpier, Dun Laoghaire, on December 31, 2004.
Sentencing was adjourned to allow preparation of a probation report. Gda William Gaynor told the court he had noticed large flames coming from the direction of Westpier at about 3.25am. When he arrived at Southside Motor Spares, he saw a car speeding away.
Gda Gaynor said when he stopped the car he noticed the driver, Hudson, was slightly under the influence of alcohol and was covered in dirt and smelling of smoke.
Hudson told gardai during interview that he had gone to the yard that night, gaining access through a hole in a fence, to try and find a new exhaust for his car.
He had some difficulty removing the exhaust from his own car and had stopped to have a cigarette.
He found a lighter inside one of the cars in the yard and lit a piece of paper from which he lit his cigarette. He then discarded it on the floor of the car, which started the fire.
Hudson told gardai that he had tried to put out the fire but panicked on seeing the gardai and drove off.
