An 82-year-old woman has spoken of her heartbreak and anger at losing her home in a blaze which was started by a drug addict.
Adam McQuarrie caused almost £250,000 of damage after setting fire to the pensioner’s shed, which then spread to her home, leaving it “virtually destroyed”.
The OAP is now homeless and living in temporary accommodation without access to a garden or even her beloved dog, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
At an earlier hearing, the court heard that the pensioner was going to bed around midnight on January 13 last year when she heard noises outside her home in Balconie Street, Evanton, and had a knock at her back door.
Fiscal depute Susan Love said she was “too fearful” to answer.
‘I have lost interest in everything’
Ms Love continued: “She then heard what sounded like a drilling noise from her shed. She looked out as a consequence and saw that her shed was on fire.”
The flames spread to a hedge and the pensioner’s nearby home, causing extensive damage.
Sheriff Robert Frazer read out excerpts from the victim’s impact statement.
It said: “I have lost my confidence. I spend much of my time in my bed and still have a lack of energy.
“I have lost interest in everything and I don’t really want to meet people.
“In the early days I didn’t really want to go out as I didn’t want people to ask about what happened.
“It has been a long year for me. I miss my home and I miss my garden. I used to spend all my time in my garden,. But I have no outside space where I am and that means I can’t have my dog with me.
“I am angry at the stress he has caused to me and my family. If he hadn’t done this I could still live an independent life.”
‘I feel awful if it was me’
A man was reported as being seen in the area and neighbours had rushed to the scene and found McQuarrie hiding nearby.
He was questioned about starting the fire but he said: “No I stayed here for three year. I wouldn’t do that.” Then he ran away.
McQuarrie, of Hollytown Road, Bellshill, was later identified by police who had examined CCTV from the nearby Novar Arms Hotel.
McQuarrie was arrested four days after the fire, on January 17, when police went to investigate two break-ins at Jubilee Drive and Juniper Drive, in Tain.
When questioned regarding the fire, he stated he was disgusted by this especially due to there being an elderly woman inside.
He told police: “I feel awful if it was me. Disgusted. It’s shocking man.”
McQuarrie admitted attempting to break into the hotel, wilful fire-raising and two charges of theft from the Tain properties.
‘He regrets the huge upheaval in this woman’s life’
His solicitor, Matthew Berlow, told the court his client was on a drug treatment and testing order and added: “He is doing very well. He is off drugs now and has turned his life around.
“He is in employment and sending him to jail would mean all his good work would be undone.
“My client can’t remember anything about it. He was taking valium and alcohol then on a daily basis.”
“He regrets the huge upheaval in this woman’s life.”
Jailing McQuarrie for a total of 31 months, Sheriff Frazer said: “You broke into the shed of an 82-year-old woman and don’t remember that you set it on fire.
“As a result, it spread to her house and it has been virtually destroyed with the consequent effects on this woman’s health and well-being.”