Youths admit arson

Police and staff at a day centre for adults with learning difficulties have condemned the actions of two teenagers who stole and set fire to a specially-modified bus used to transport people with serious disabilities.

Two 14-year-old boys pleaded guilty at Newark Youth Court last week to stealing and setting fire to a minibus which was used to transport disabled people to and from the Whitewater Day Centre at the Dukeries Complex in Ollerton.

The boys, who are both from Boughton and cannot be named because of their age, admitted stealing the minibus, which was worth £50,000.

The bus, which was owned by Nottinghamshire County Council, was stolen from the Whitewater Day Centre on August 31.

The prosecutor, Judith Kirkham, said: “The impact of losing the minibus on the centre is considerable as it was the vehicle to take them out and about.”

One of the boys told police he found some flammable liquid in the bus and used that to set fire to it.

The other boy admitted to police that he was there when the bus was stolen and when it was set on fire.

Magistrates adjourned the case until Thursday to allow the probabtion service time to gather reports about the boys.

One of the boys was released on conditional bail and the other was kept in custody.

A senior day service officer at Whitewater Day Centre, Mrs Linda Lancashire, said staff at the centre referred to the minibus as an ambulance.

She said: “It was a vehicle for people with profound and complex needs who need specialist treatment to get to Whitewater.

“We’ve got a replacement vehicle, which means that no one’s service has been compromised, but it is still an appaling act.

“It’s just upsetting to think someone came on to campus and stole a bus that was used by people who can’t speak for themselves.”

Mrs Lancashire said it would have been devastating for people who used the centre if a replacement bus had not been found.

Pc Dave Ellis of Newark Police’s Volume Crime Unit, which investigated the incident and arrested those responsible, said: “This may have seemed like a bit of fun but the implications for those that relied on this minibus were far-reaching.

“They have been robbed of their enjoyment and must have been upset when told of what had happened.

“It shows that every crime has consequences and I hope that the sentence reflects that.

“We would not have been able to detect these offences so quickly had it not been for the assistance of residents in the area who appreciated just how despicable an act it was.”