A Milford man with a ‘relatively clean record’ has been warned to stay out of trouble after admitting destroying a toilet by setting fire to it.
Twenty-five-year-old Joshua Stephens, of Marble Hall Road, pleaded guilty to arson when he appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Ellie Morgan told the court that the incident occurred late in the day on January 1, when a public toilet block at Castle Lake car park in Haverfordwest was destroyed by a fire.
Police officers and the fire service attended the scene after the facility had exploded.
“The toilet was smashed to pieces, a sanitary bin was burnt to the floor and everything was covered in black soot,” explained Ms Morgan.
“It was a established that a small piece of fabric was probably lit to start the fire,” she added.
Mr. Stephens was identified as the culprit after his friend, who he was with at the time of the incident, contacted the police with information on the fire.
Defence solicitor Mike Kelleher told the court that it would have been very easy for Mr. Stephens to blame the ‘young lady’ that he was with as she had an extensive criminal record.
“He has no idea why he did what he did. He put a coat into the water of the toilet pan and set fire to it. He didn’t expect such damage. It was reckless rather than intentional,” explained Mr. Kelleher.
Probation officer Julie Norman told the court that Mr. Stephens had been in court the week before for theft.
“He had been out that evening driving around with his friend, when she suggested that he set fire to the coat in the toilet. When they came back to the scene later they could see the toilet block was smoking,” Mrs Norman told the court.
Magistrates gave Mr. Stephens a 12-month community order, with 50 hours of unpaid work, and a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement of 15 days.
He was also told to pay costs of £85, a £60 victim surcharge, and compensation of £168.20 to pay for the damage caused.