Schoolboy, 16, admits starting blaze that destroyed a fashion boutique causing £100,000 worth of damage after CCTV caught him setting fire to cardboard boxes outside shop front
- The boy told Cardiff Magistrates’ Court that he thought the blaze would go out
- He said his actions were ‘stupid’ after he admitted arson over the August blaze
- The owners of the Queen B boutique said they were ‘devastated’ by the attack
A schoolboy has admitted to starting a blaze which destroyed a fashion boutique and caused more than £100,000 worth of damage.
The boy, 15 at the time, was caught on CCTV footage setting fire to cardboard boxes that had been left outside the ‘high-class fashion’ store for recycling in August last year.
The owners of the Queen B boutique in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, were left ‘devastated’ by the late night attack on their store.
Cardiff Magistrates’ Court heard that the damage amounted to more than £100,000 as the store was forced to close due to the arson attack.
A schoolboy admitted to starting the blaze outside the Queen B fashion boutique in Penarth, Wales, in August of last year
The owners of the Queen B boutique in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, were described as ‘devastated’ by the late night fire attack on their store in August 2022
In the CCTV footage, the boy was seen in a doorway by the cardboard recycling playing with a lighter.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was then seen setting fire to one of the boxes and walking away.
Now aged 16, the boy told the court that he thought it would go out – and said his actions were ‘stupid’ after he admitted arson over the August blaze.
Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on January 10, 2023, heard more than £100,000 of damage was caused as the store was forced to close due to the arson attack
In mitigation, it was pointed out that there seemed to be no psychiatric issues with the defendant, however the matter was serious enough that it would require a pre-sentence report before sentencing.
The boy was released on bail under conditions which included not to enter Penarth town centre. He was also placed under a curfew from 7pm to 7am.
He will appear again at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on January 31 for sentencing.
‘We are working hard to reopen’, boarding reads outside the Queen B fashion boutique in Penarth, Wales, following the August 2022 arson attack
At the time, owner Jodie Tanner said: ‘This is horrendous. In terms of the level of damage, it is catastrophic. My business is in utter devastation.’
‘I just want to say as a family and business we are utterly blown away with the outpouring of beautiful comments and support we have received.’
Opening in 2009, the Queen B boutique sells high-class fashion for the high street in the seaside town.
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