A lamppost and Volkswagen Sharan were damaged by heat from a bonfire which was lit in Newtownbutler last Hallowe’en by a man despite warning from police not to do so.

On October 31, 2021, just before 6pm police were called out to the Camphill Park area of Newtownbutler where a bonfire was being built.

On arrival fireworks were thrown at police who observed Lee Southam (21), with an address of Windmill Heights, Enniskillen helping to build the bonfire.

Southam left and returned with a petrol can and other items which he put on the fire.

When advised it was unsafe to light the bonfire due to the close proximity of cars he said he “didn’t give a f**k”.

The vehicle could not be moved and it started to melt because of the fire.

On November 5, there was recorded damage to a vehicle and a street light.

Arrested

Southam was arrested at a later date and made admissions to criminal damage but denied being in possession of fireworks and said he had just picked them up to stop them being burnt in the bonfire.

In an unrelated incident on December 16, police were tasked to a road traffic collision on the Derryharney Road, Lisbellaw reported by a male.

When police arrived they observed a badly damaged Volkswagen Passat which had struck a telegraph pole.

The male, identified as the defendant, smelt of alcohol and his eyes were glazed. He also failed a preliminary breath test.

Southam told police he had stolen the car and crashed at high speed and had drank Buckfast.

He admitted taking the vehicle without the owner’s permissions but did not know from where or when.

An evidential reading by Southam returned a reading of 42mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

In his admissions, Southam’s barrister, Ciaran Roddy, in reference to the October 31 incident said there was a “significant societal problem in this part of the world” around bonfire regulations and said his client ought to have listened to police on the scene.

But, he continued, he did not and caused significant damage to unsuspecting members of the public and public property and it was the deliberate act of lighting the bonfire that caused this damage.

‘Disgraceful’

In reference to the December 16 incident, Mr. Roddy accepted it was a “disgraceful set of circumstances” which caused Southam to get behind the wheel of a car under the influence of alcohol. But he added that the defendant did not demur from this.

Mr. Roddy said that while an immediate prison sentence may be an easy disposal an alternative to custody would be a sensible approach.

Deputy District Judge John Rea agreed with Mr. Roddy saying community service would be appropriate in giving Southam some structure in his life.

Southam was convicted of two counts of criminal damage and one of possession of fireworks without a licence in relation to the October 31 incident.

For the December 16 incident he was convicted of driving with excess alcohol in breath, aggravated vehicle taken causing damage, no driving licence, using a motor vehicle without insurance.

In total Southam was ordered to complete 160 hours of community service, pay £250 compensation for the lamppost, given a 12 month conditional discharge and disqualified from driving for one year.

Southam was warned the onus was on him to complete the community serviced by Judge Rea who said if he was back before the court there would be no alternative to prison.