Posted on 11/10/2001 10:37:37 AM PST by aculeus
TEENAGE factory worker Darren Walsh was told by workmates about a 'trick' that would get him sent home early to see his girlfriend and baby, a court heard yesterday.
All he had to do was start a small fire which would set off an alarm and the bottling plant where he worked would be evacuated, a judge in the High Court was told.
But £3m of damage was caused when fire swept through Cantrell and Cochrane's factory at Castlereagh Road, Belfast, last September. Walsh (18) from Templemore Place, Belfast, who was in custody on a charge of arson, applied for bail before Mr Justice McLaughlin.
Crown counsel David Hopley said that after the fire alarm went off a fire was discovered in the bottling area. It quickly took hold and the premises were extensively damaged.
Mr Hopley said Walsh had admitted to police that he started the fire but said he had not meant to cause so much damage.
Defence barrister Tom McCreanor said when Walsh realised the extent of the damage he went to the police and told them what had happened.
Mr McCreanor said Walsh was on the night shift and told police his girlfriend had a baby and he wanted home early to see her.
"During police interviews he said he had been told of a trick to set off the fire alarm by starting a small fire which would result in the shift being sent home," said Mr McCreanor.
Mr Justice McLaughlin released Walsh on his own bail of £500 with two sureties of £750.
Likely so. On the other hand, the plant must have been pretty much of a firetrap for his 'little' blaze to get out of hand so quickly, which doesn't say a lot for his employer, either.
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