East Lothian crime news: A drunk firebug caused around £20,000 of damage after he set a blaze at an East Lothian university

Jonathan Brown lit the fire within a storage area that contained canisters of butane gas, CO2 and helium at Queen Margaret University, in Musselburgh, East Lothian.

Brown had made his way to the university by bus and was spotted wandering about the campus smoking and drinking from a can at around 11.45pm on July 5, 2020.

The 33-year-old made his way to the secluded storage area where flames and smoke were subsequently seen to erupt minutes later.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told fire fighters raced to the scene and managed to extinguish the blaze before it could reach the gas canisters.

East Lothian crime news: A drunk firebug caused around £20,000 of damage after he set a blaze at an East Lothian university

The court heard several rooms within the university were damaged and the repair bill was in the region of £20,000.

Brown pleaded guilty to a charge of wilfully setting fire to the university storage area when he appeared at the capital court yesterday.

Prosecutor Jennifer McLaren said Brown arrived at the Queen Margaret University campus by bus and was seen on CCTV walking about the grounds for around 90 minutes.

He was seen drinking from a can and smoking before heading to the storage area where the flames were seen and a fire alarm activated at around 1.45am.

Security staff spotted Brown on the CCTV footage “running off” from the area and the fire service arrived just after 2am to find the area under a main stairwell on well alight.

Ms McLaren said fire fighters took around “15 minutes to gain control of the fire” before the fire commander spotted 18 gas canisters within the area.

Police were called and retrieved a cigarette from the surrounding area before viewing the CCTV which showed Brown walking about while “under the influence”.

The court was told Brown, of Wardlaw Place, Edinburgh, then handed himself in to police two days after the incident.

Solicitor Lesley Cunningham, defending, said her client had one previous conviction and had no connection to the university.

Sheriff Alistair Noble deferred sentence for the preparation of reports to next month.

Brown admitted to wilfully setting fire to a storage area and causing damage to the area at Queen Margaret University, Musselburgh, East Lothian, on July 5, 2020.

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