Child arsonist faces custody

The 15-year-old from Wath, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to five counts of arson and one count of theft at Rotherham Youth Court on Thursday.

He confessed to torching a Wath Comprehensive School minibus on September 28.

The teen was charged with burning another two buses that day — the value of the three totalling £92,000 — but claimed someone else did that.

District Judge John Foster called the crimes “an extremely serious matter”, adding that the number of buses burned would not affect his sentence.

Ms Helen White, defending, said the boy had entered the school grounds with the intention of “larking about”, not starting fires, and that other children had encouraged him to do this.

But he admitted burning a Citroen Berlingo van worth £1,000, a Ford Transit worth £5,000, a Mercedes A Class worth £2,000 and a police car worth £14,000 on October 15.

The boy also admitted stealing a beer barrel worth £100 from Montgomery Hall in Wath, also on October 15.

He will appear at Rotherham Youth Court again on November 19, after a pre-sentence report has been prepared.

Released on conditional bail, he must obey a 7pm to 7am curfew and wear an electronic tag.

The Advertiser asked Judge Foster for permission to name the boy, given the damage caused and an ongoing fire service drive to discourage arson.

But the judge said he did not know enough about the boy — who has no past convictions — to overturn the automatic anonymity he enjoys as a juvenile.

Judge Foster invited the Advertiser to apply again next month, after he has read the pre-sentence report.

Judge Foster called Thursday morning’s Youth Court list “the most extraordinary I have seen in 14 years on the bench”.

Other juvenile defendants faced charges of rape, sexual assault, possessing offensive weapons and intent to supply class A drugs during the same session.