'Remorseful' teen fined for starting factory fire

The Delphi factory has been derelict since 2020 when it closed its doors

A teenager who admitted starting a fire at a large disused factory said he felt "terrible" by his actions, a court has heard.

Twenty-five fire engines from Suffolk and Essex were called on 28 May to the former Delphi Diesel Systems site on Newton Road, Sudbury, Suffolk.

A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Thursday after admitting a charge pf arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.

He was sentenced to a 12-month referral order and fined £111.

Shefa Siu, prosecuting, told the court the teenager had met with a group of friends on the night of the fire, entering the building through an opening.

A witness statement claimed the teenager had set fire to paper on an office chair upstairs before the chair caught alight.

The group allegedly then told the teenager to put out the fire.

“He refused and wanted us to look at the fire," the statement added.

The court heard that the witness and some more of the group left the site and noticed "black smoke in the sky".

The witness said the group went to Mick’s Fish and Chip Shop following the incident, which the defendant denied.

Ms Siu told the court the owner of the disused factory, Mohammed Asjad, had said in a statement he regularly had an issue of trespassers on the site.

About 40% of the site was "gutted and decimated by the fire", according to Ms Siu and repairs were likely to cost upwards of £1m.

The Delphi factory previously made components for the motor industry

Alistair Taunton, defending, told the court the teenager was "not a trouble maker" and had no previous convictions.

He said the boy claimed he had been handed the lighter which started the fire.

"Before he knew it the whole thing was out of control and he didn’t know what to do," Mr Taunton added.

'Open and honest'

The teenager said he returned immediately home after the fire and his first words to his mother were: "I did something stupid."

The court heard they went immediately to the police and the boy admitted what he had done.

"He has been open and honest with [the police], he’s been fully cooperative all the way through and he’s able to fully discuss the matters," Mr Taunton told the hearing.

"He’s remorseful for it.

"It was clearly an impulsive decision he made on the day and clearly the wrong one."

Mr Taunton told the court the teenager had been out of education for eight weeks but was looking to get back into school to "get back on with his life".

'I'm sorry'

The boy, who could be seen sobbing in court, was questioned by chair magistrate Graham Higgins.

Asked why he did not ring the fire brigade immediately after he started the fire, the teenage said he did not get the chance.

"I feel terrible," he told the court.

"In the moment I wasn’t really thinking, I didn’t think it could get that big but obviously it did.

"Looking back on it I realise I shouldn’t have done it.

“I’d just like to say I’m sorry for all this that happened.. I’m never going to be put in the situation again.

"I'm going to think before I do anything ever again."

Sentencing the teenager, Mr Higgins told him: "We acknowledge in making that order that you’ve accepted your responsibility and you’ve shown remorse since the time of the evidence."