A 'STUPID' firestarter who can't remember drunkenly setting a van ablaze just yards from a Greenock filling station has been spared a jail sentence - just.

Robert Strachan was told by a sheriff that he had treaded a 'fine line' between being locked up and allowed his liberty after recklessly targeting a Renault Kangoo near the town's Tesco fuel outlet at midnight.

Strachan, 21, has been given hundreds of hours of unpaid work and he will be electronically tagged as a direct alternative to a custodial sentence.

Sheriff James Varney said that the first offender's thoughtless actions could have had 'very significant and serious consequences for many people'.

Strachan, of Antigua Street, was 18 when he started the fire on September 10, 2021.

Greenock Telegraph: Roslin StreetRoslin Street (Image: George Munro)

Sheriff Varney told him: "Whatever way you look at this, certainly in your life that was one of the stupidest things you could ever find yourself doing.

"This conviction will mark the rest of your life.

"This could have had very significant and serious consequences for many people which focuses even more on the stupidity of your actions on that day.

"I am prepared to accept that this was a one-off event and that you are unlikely to find yourself in this situation again."

Greenock Sheriff Court heard how police found Strachan 'covered in soot' shortly after the fire had taken hold and damaged the van.

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A procurator fiscal depute said: "At around 12.05am, a witness was working at the Tesco fuel station on Laird Street and observed smoke coming from a vehicle nearby.

"The witness contacted police.

"The accused was apprehended near to the now burnt out vehicle.

"He was observed to be intoxicated and covered in soot."

Defence solicitor Ellen Macdonald told the sentencing hearing that her client has 'absolutely no recollection' of the incident.

The lawyer said: "Stupid is the only way I can put it. He has drank to excess and has found himself in this situation.

"In fairness to him he has taken a lesson from it, he has reduced his drinking to an almost negligible level.

"He is assessed as being of a minimal risk of reoffending and there has been no offending since."

Strachan will be supervised in the community for the next 18 months and he must complete 250 hours of unpaid work within a year.

He will also be restricted to his home address between the hours of 7pm and 7am each night for 120 days.