Teenager who set bus on fire avoids jail

A Bradford teenager who caused £128,500 of damage when he set fire to a Ribena carton and left it burning on the top deck of a bus has avoided a jail sentence.

The incident back in October 2023 led to a huge blaze engulfing the upper deck of a First bus which had about 20 people on board in the city centre.

The boy, who was 15 at the time of the offence but is now 17, appeared before a judge at Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday after he admitted an offence of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.

Judge Sophie McKone said the teenager had done something which was not only "silly, stupid and reckless", but also "really dangerous".

She added: "There were people on that bus and people could have been very badly hurt on that bus, even killed."

The boy was accompanied to the hearing by his mother.

Judge McKone imposed an 18-month youth rehabilitation order and told the teenager: "You have to understand that playing with fire is very dangerous and can have very serious consequences and work needs to be done on that."

He will have to take part in a fire awareness and prevention programme, and a three-month parenting order was also imposed.

Judge McKone also warned the teenager that his sentence was not a "soft option" and that he could be sent to custody if he breached it.

'Catastrophic' damage

Prosecutor Nadim Bashir said when another teenager got on the bus he saw the defendant drinking from the carton and "playing" with a lighter.

As the teenager was getting off, the defendant tapped him on the shoulder and asked: "Do you want a present?"

The defendant was holding the burning carton and tried to get the other boy to grab it.

"The defendant kept hold of the Ribena carton for a few seconds watching the flame get closer to his fingers and then threw it in the back right corner of the bus," said Mr Bashir.

As the other boy left the defendant shouted to him: "It's lit on fire."

He said he expected the defendant to put out the fire, but Mr Bashir said it spread causing "catastrophic" damage to the upper deck of the bus and even melting the roof of a nearby bus shelter.

The court heard that the defendant had no previous convictions, although there had been an incident in 2021 when he "set fire to something" resulting in damage to a property.

Rachel Webster, defending the teenager, stressed that her client had been a child at the time of the offence.

She said he had rung a friend in a panic at the time because he didn't expect the outcome to be as serious as it was.

"It was a 15-year-old boy messing around in the back of a bus and his actions went too far," she submitted.

She said her client had no intention of causing injury or harm to other people and had displayed shame and deep regret for his actions.

"He grasps the enormity of the impact of his actions and takes full responsibility for his actions," she added.

"He wants to be, and can be, rehabilitated."

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