A Southampton man has been fined $200 for setting fire to a Christmas tree outside of a Reid Street business.

Appearing in Magistrates’ Court this morning, Garth John Hayward, 47, pleaded guilty to wilfully and unlawfully damaging the property of Clarien Bank in Pembroke on January 3.

The Crown offered no evidence against co-accused Eugene Anderson, 52, of no fixed address, and he was discharged.

Prosecutor Maria Sofianos told the court that at about 12.20am on January 3, a 911 call was made to report a Christmas tree on fire outside of the bank.

She explained that CCTV footage showed Hayward setting fire to the tree with a lighter and walking away in the company of Mr Anderson.

Ms Sofianos added that neither of them made any effort to extinguish the 15ft blaze and that Hayward returned to the scene once it had been put out.

The court heard that a window and a door were damaged by the fire and that Mr Anderson admitted being present at the scene during a police interview, but insisted that Hayward set the tree on fire because he wanted to know how fast it would go up in flames.

Both men were arrested and pleaded not guilty to arson charges at a court appearance on January 6.

But because arson is an indictable offence that can only be heard in Supreme Court, the charges were amended this morning so that the pair could be tried in Magistrates’ Court.

In court today, Hayward apologised and said: “I’m pleading guilty to wilful damage because it was an idiotic thing I did. I’ve been out of the system for ten years. To come up for wilful damage is embarrassing to me and my family.”

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