Deportation order for British arsonist

A BRITISH man found guilty of arson has received a bill for €12,000 and a threeyear suspended sentence.

The Provincial Court in Alicante found the 63­year­old guilty of starting a fire that razed two and a half hectares of natural parkland in the Sierra Helada nature park in Benidorm. He will be deported on May 31 and cannot return to Spain for 10 years.

The man has also been ordered to pay a €7,200 fine and to compensate the governments of Valencia and Alicante for the costs incurred extinguishing the fire. Although the public prosecutor was originally pushing for a four ­ year prison sentence, the man has been in custody since June 22, 2022 and will not be released until he is deported on May 31.

The man intentionally set three fires in separate spots close to homes to damage the natural environment. Despite the windy conditions, he succeeded in lighting the fires and was arrested when he came down from the mountain.

The police found he was carrying the equipment he needed to commit the crime in his backpack.