Benidorm’s Brit arsonist banned from country

a British man has been banned entering spain for ten years after he deliberately started fires. the wild fires devastated more than two hectares of the sierra helada natural park in Benidorm last year.

the expulsion order for the 63-yearold will take effect from 31st May this year, almost a year after his June 2022 last year. the unnamed man from scotland has been in custody since his arrest and was given a three year jail sentence by the alicante Provincial court. he will have served 11 months behind bars by the end of May, which makes him eligible for early release and will be deported back to the UK. in addition, the court fined him €7,200 and he will also have to pay compensation of nearly €12,000 to the Valencian government and alicante a speedy response from the emergency services prevented a more serious incident with planes dropping gallons of water over the area. scrubland and pine trees were devastated, but luckily, despite the fire starting close to several properties, the blaze was contained and there was no damage to people’s houses. the man never admitted his guilt until his recent trial and his reason for starting the fire at the sierra helada have never been revealed. the court heard he deliberately started fires at three different points of the natural park on 22nd June with the express intention of causing destruction. he was arrested by Benidorm Policia Local officers as he came down from the mountain area and officers searched the backpack he was carrying. inside they found several lighters used to commit the arson.

Provincial council to cover the cost of sending fire crews to extinguish the blaze.