Child motorbike gift sparks blazing row
29sep05
AN angry tug of war over a child's four-wheel quad bike that saw a house nearly burned down had a sequel in court yesterday.
Anthony Michael Blackaby, 26, was ordered to perform 140 hours of community service after pleading guilty to arson.
The Supreme Court in Hobart heard Blackaby had struggled with his girlfriend over the quad bike after they argued at their Goodwood home in June.
The fuel line broke and spilled petrol on to the carpet.
Blackaby told his girlfriend that if he could not have the quad bike, which was intended for his four-year-old son, then no one could. He then flicked a lit match onto the fuel.
Yesterday Justice Shan Tennent described the act as "recklessness".
The carpet went up in flames and the quad bike started melting.
Blackaby tried to put the fire out with a doona but when that failed he wheeled the bike outside.
While the house was not destroyed it suffered substantial smoke damage.
Justice Tennent ordered Blackaby perform community service, placed him on probation for 12 months and ordered he pay compensation for the damage to the house.
Topic: Child motorbike gift sparks blazing row/AUS (Read 3853 times)