An Aberdeen teenager who admitted starting a string of devastating wildfires in Aberdeen has been locked up for nine months.
Ryan Smith, 19, a convicted sex offender who targeted under age girls, previously pled guilty to wilful fireraising at the Gramps nature reserve.
He is already serving three years in detention after being convicted during a High Court trial last month of having sex with two teenage girls, a sexual assault and sending lewd photographs.
Emergency crews dealt with a series of significant blazes at the nature reserve and Nigg Bay Golf Club in Torry between September 9 and 22 last year.
Firefighters were called to the area 30 times in just 10 days due to the constant reigniting of its grass and moorland.
Appliances were drafted in from across the city to tackle the blaze, with teams using beaters, knapsacks and an all-terrain forestry vehicle to keep the flames at bay.
The fires finally came to an end on September 22, when police confirmed a teenager had been charged with wilful fireraising.
Keep up to date with the latest news with The Evening Express newsletter
Smith was apprehended just before 8pm on September 22 after a member of the public spotted him in the area.
After being cautioned by police he was searched and officers found a large kitchen knife and two lighters in a compartment of the bag he was carrying.
At a hearing last month, Smith, of Northfield Place, Aberdeen, pled guilty to wilfully setting fire to moorland area on various occasions between September 9 and September 22 last year.
He also admitted possession of a knife on September 22.
And yesterday Sheriff Morag McLaughlin sentenced Smith to nine months in detention.
Defence agent Peter Keene said: “There’s a great deal of damage done here.
“Luckily there was no danger to life, although smoke from one of the fires did cross a road and cause traffic problems, but no one was hurt.”
Depute fiscal Katy Begg previously told the court Smith had been on an evening stroll through the Gramps with a friend on September 9 when he lit the first fire.
“She was walking slightly ahead of him and she heard the sound of a lighter,” Ms Begg said.
“She turned and saw the accused running towards her, but after challenging him, they continued on the walk.
“He then kneeled to tie his shoelace and she once again heard the sound of a lighter and saw him setting fire to a bush.”
The court was told that, in the following days, Smith walked the same route time and again, setting fire to plants along the way.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.
