Man (20) cleared of arson attack at Rotherham councillor's town centre pub

A JUDGE has thrown out the case against a man accused of setting fire to a Rotherham pub owned by a borough councillor after inconsistent evidence from witnesses.

Brent Bierton (20) was cleared of arson which caused £8,500 worth of damage at the derelict Cross Keys pub on Moorgate Street, owned by Cllr Taiba Yasseen.

Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard Mr Bierton, of Osbert Drive, Thurcroft, had gone behind the back of the pub with Keiran Thompson to smoke cannabis on July 18 last year. 

Each man blamed the other for starting the fire.

But Deputy District Judge Vincent McDade ruled on Monday, after an application from Mr Bierton’s solicitor, Ms Mary Rose Macadam, that there was no case to answer due to inconsistent evidence from Mr Thompson and another witness.

Prosecutor Mr Samuel Ponniah said it was the Crown’s case that Mr Bierton had started the blaze after setting fire to a discarded jumper.

“Because it is derelict there are a number of homeless people living in and around the pub and their possessions are around the area,” said Mr Ponniah.

Giving evidence, Mr Thompson said that on the day of the incident he had been drinking with Mr Bierton in the High House pub and had asked him if he wanted to smoke a “spliff” with him.

Mr Thompson said he smoked cannabis due to “medical reasons” but did not like doing it in public view, so suggested going around the back of the Cross Keys pub.

At the back of the Cross Keys were two garage-type buildings, he said, and the area had been strewn with “needles” and “sleeping bags” and was often frequented by “junkies”.

He described the area as “disgusting”, adding: “In one garage window there was a jumper which he (Mr Bierton) set alight. I thought nothing of it as there was just a little bit of smoke, no flames, so we left.” 

Around 15 minutes after the pair had returned to the High House, Mr Thompson said, smoke had started coming over the top of the Cross Keys.

“It started getting black — we all went round the back to look. The whole roof was on fire,” he said.

Mr Thompson claimed around six to seven people, including Mr Bierton and the High House landlord Sally Smith, had gone to inspect the scene.

Mr Thompson said because of the “severity of the situation” he had immediately told Ms Smith that Mr Bierton had started the fire.

He added: “As soon as I’ve told Sally she’s told Brent that she’s phoning the police and he then ran off.”

In a statement read to the court, Ms Smith said she had spotted the fire and had investigated the scene with her assistant manager.

Ms Smith said she had approached Mr Thompson and he had told her Mr Bierton had started the fire.

She added: “I told Keiran we needed to tell the police. My assistant manager heard the conversation. 

“I approached Brent and he ran off and I’ve not seen him since.”

When he was arrested on August 18, Mr Bierton told police he had left the High House after being accused by Ms Smith of starting the fire to avoid “losing his head”.

He admitted going to the back of the Cross Keys with Mr Thompson, but denied smoking cannabis and claimed Mr Thompson had started the fire.

The judge said Mr Thompson’s evidence was “fundamentally undermined” by Ms Smith’s evidence.

Because there was no CCTV or forensic evidence to link the defendant to the arson, there was no case to answer against Mr Bierton, he concluded.