Man started fire in police station by setting light to toilet roll in attempt to dry wet clothes

A man who beat up his girlfriend set fire to a toilet roll in a police station, a court heard. Marc Gibson was attending Scholey Street police station in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on March 11 to answer bail for the assault, which happened on December 7 last year.

When the fire alarm sounded at the station, officers found Gibson locked in the disabled toilet, and banged on the door before finding burn marks on the wall and floor inside. Bolton Crown Court heard that Gibson had decided to use a lighter to set fire to some toilet roll in an attempt to dry his clothes.
The court heard that Gibson had been given a cigarette by a friend on the way to the station, and that he now questions the contents of the cigarette, claiming that it influenced his actions. Gibson, 34, of Halliwell, had pleaded guilty to one count of assault and another of criminal damage at an earlier hearing.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison following a sentencing hearing on Friday, and must also pay a surcharge of £100. Judge Timothy Stead said: “The assault is a nasty case. While answering bail at Bolton police station you caused damage by fire in the disabled toilet. This case, it seems, is a matter of vandalism. Whatever you were trying to do in there, ordinary decent people do not set fire to toilet roll in police stations.”