South Shields man torched stolen car in a police vehicle recovery yard

Gary Maclean used a ladder to scale the boundaries of the secure compound, which is used by Norhumbria Police to store vehicles that have been used in criminality.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that the 55-year-old deliberately targeted a stolen white Mercedes, which had been seized by officers in the days prior, and set fire to it.

Maclean then ran and hid behind another car when a security guard spotted the blaze and successfully fought to battle the flames.

The court heard the Mercedes was destroyed in the fire but other vehicles nearby were saved thanks to the "brave" actions of the guard.

Maclean, of Havelock Street, South Shields, was detained at the scene and later pleaded guilty to arson.

Prosecutor Stuart Graham said it was on August 29 last year that Maclean used a ladder to sneak into the recovery yard in Gateshead.

He said: "The yard is for those vehicles which have been secured by police in relation to crime - stolen vehicles or vehicles used in crime.

"It's a sanitised yard, where vehicles are kept securely until they have been forensically examined."

The court heard Maclean deliberately targeted a white Mercedes and got into the rear seat carrying a blanket.

Mr Graham added: "After a fair bit of time, you can see flames coming from inside the vehicle. Eventually, after a few minutes, the defendant is disturbed and flees. He hides behind another vehicle in the compound."

The court heard that a security guard spotted the blaze and used a fire extinguishers to put out the flames.

The car, worth £7,000, was written-off.

Mr Graham said that the same security guard then located Maclean and "pinned him to the floor" until police arrived.

He added: "It's a concerted effort to go into the yard and target that specific vehicle. He didn't know why that was but there was a clear reason to either remove or destroy evidence in relation to that vehicle."

Gavin Doig, defending, said Maclean, who has 184 offences on his record, had no previous for arson.

He said: "The defendant agreed to do something without understanding why he was doing it."

Judge Penny Moreland said the only reason she wasn't sending Maclean straight to jail was because he'd been assessed as suitable for an alcohol treatment programme.

Giving him a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, she told Maclean: "You were drunk at the time. The purpose of this was to destroy or conceal evidence. I'm sure there was some financial gain to you."

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