A teenager convicted of setting a fire in the toilet block of her former north-east school was back in court yesterday – for failing to carry out her punishment.
Lucy Innes set a bin at Ellon Academy on fire in December 11, 2012.
The now 18-year-old had been playing truant at the time, and the incident led to the whole school – which at the time was still in Schoolhill – being evacuated.
She admitted the offence in November 2013 and was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work as part of a community payback order.
But yesterday she was back in the dock for failing to complete the order.
The court heard she was attempting to turn her life around, and had ended her relationship with her partner who had been the cause of her “unreliability”.
Sheriff William Taylor ordered her to carry out 75 hours of unpaid work within a year.
Innes, of 55 King Street, Peterhead, set fire to a sanitary towel machine in the school’s annex toilets while skiving with a friend.
She bought a towel, set it alight with a lighter and stuffed it back into the machine.
The two girls then fled the building and headed into Ellon’s town centre.
About 80 pupils had to be evacuated from the building, however only the toilet block was damaged. Firefighters quickly ruled the blaze must have been deliberately set as the machine did not contain any electrical components.
Representing Innes at the time of her appearance in 2013, defence agent Ian Woodward-Nutt said she had been “showing off” in front of the other girl and had set the fire on impulse.
He said Innes, who had previous convictions, handed herself in two days later and admitted to the offence from the outset.
The court heard had a difficult upbringing and was going through a series of personal problems at the time of the offence.