Arsonist convicted of causing £500,000 damage to Cumbrian railway

An arsonist has been convicted for starting three separate fires at a major Cumbrian tourist attraction.

The largest of the blazes set by Benjamin Taylor, 24, caused £500,000 damage to an engineers' workshop at the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway site.

Carlisle Crown Court heard that the impact was so severe it "almost destroyed" a business which is home to the popular "La'al Ratty" line.

Taylor, who worked at the premises as engineer, started two other fires on the railway site.

He was also responsible for two more which were discovered at a house in Whitehaven where he had lived with his girlfriend and her family.

Taylor had denied being to blame for any of the incidents, which occurred in late 2012 and 2013.

But after a trial at the crown court, he was today found guilty of five counts of arson by a jury of seven women and five men.

Jurors had heard Taylor, of Whole House Road, Seascale, started the fires in a desperate quest for attention.

He will learn his fate in June but Judge Peter Hughes QC told him a "significant custodial sentence" was "inevitable".

In the meantime Taylor was remanded in custody.