Falkirk man set fire in his home then saved his neighbours
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Sean Cowell (27) appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court last Thursday having pleaded guilty to wilfully setting fire to a chair at an address in Westfield Street, Falkirk – exposing occupants of neighbouring addresses to the risk of harm on April 8.
He also admitted behaving in a threatening manner – making phone calls and video calls repeatedly uttering threats of violence towards his mother and grandmother and threatening to break a window at their house – in Lomond Drive, Langlees on the same date.
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Hide AdSimon Hutchison, defence solicitor, said: “He is a true first offender and there has been nothing else coming to the court’s attention since this incident. There is a background of difficulty in his life – the death of his brothers in tragic circumstances.”
Sheriff Simon Collins QC highlighted the potential danger to life Cowell caused.
Mr Hutchison responded: “He set the fire, but it was Mr Cowell who alerted the neighbours, He told them they needed to leave the building because of the fire. He was intending to harm himself in the fire and had no intention of harming anyone else.”
Sheriff Collins placed Cowell, 35 Westfield Street, Falkirk on a supervised community payback order for two years with the condition he complete 200 hours unpaid work within 12 months and engage with his GP, mental health services, drug addiction services and bereavement services.