Serial arsonist jailed for life after £2.6m fire destroyed Bristol's historic Underfall Yard
Watch: CCTV shows the moment Boyd-Stevenson set the historic boatyard on fire
A serial arsonist who started a fire which destroyed a historic boatyard in Bristol has been jailed for life with a minimum of six years.
Robert Boyd-Stevenson, 46, had been working at the Underfall Yard in Bristol for three days as a maintenance co-ordinator when he lit the blaze.
Bristol Crown Court heard that the fire was started in the Big Shed at around 11.45pm on Friday 6 May and within minutes, developed into an "inferno".
It was so severe that it destroyed the Big Shed as well as boats moored nearby, and caused dozens of houseboats and homes to be evacuated.
Footage shows the fire burning at the beloved boatyard
Gregory Gordon, prosecuting, said the Grade II-listed boatyard dated back to 1809 and many of the original Victorian-era buildings remain to this day.
The rebuild is estimated to cost £2.6million and will take three years to complete, adding another £200,000 in lost revenue.
Some businesses that used the yard have ceased trading while others have faced bills of tens of thousands of pounds.
Mr Gordon said: “The Big Shed is a machine workshop and it was one of the last remaining buildings on site that was used for its original purpose.
“It is a nationally historic, important site.”
Watch: Drone footage shows the scale of the devastation
Mr Gordon said forensic examiners had concluded an accelerant had been used to start the fire and within 15 minutes it had quickly spread.
The court heard how on the night of the fire, Boyd-Stevenson unlocked the yard and went to the Big Shed where he started the blaze.
“GPS data puts him at the yard between 9.47pm and 11.48pm,” Mr Gordon said.
He added: “CCTV records a person walking through the yard and CCTV from nearby streets records his vehicle in the area.”
Boyd-Stevenson watched the fire from the nearby Millennium Promenade where he took a photo and sent it by WhatsApp to Underfall Yard’s managing director, jurors were told.
Boyd-Stevenson returned home on the morning of 6 May and was arrested by police that evening.
He admitted arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered at a previous hearing.
An alternative, more serious charge of arson with intent to endanger life was ordered to be left on file.
The court heard that Boyd-Stevenson has previous convictions for arson and bomb hoaxes dating back to 1997 and served an 11-year sentence for similar crimes.
During a hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Monday 27 November, he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of six years.
Addressing Boyd-Stevenson, Judge Martin Picton said: “It appears when things in your life are going wrong you react by starting fires or making bomb hoaxes.
“It has happened with significant frequency to give rise to the concern you are highly likely to do so again – you are clearly dangerous."
He added: “The trauma for those people that night must have been extreme and will stay with them for a long time.”
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