Three men jailed for setting fire to two homes

Three men have been jailed after setting two homes in Fife on fire in one night.

Stuart Young, 45, Barry Baxter, 49, and Angus Guthrie, 49, were found guilty of wilful fireraising and sentenced to eight years, 12 years and 11-and-a-half years respectively.

The court heard that the planned attacks on a flat on Duffy Place and a house on Queensferry Road in Rosyth both happened in the early hours of 25 July 2023.

The judge at the High Court in Edinburgh said it was not clear why they started the fires, but they had put lives at risk.

Firefighters had to rescue one occupant of a neighbouring property on Duffy Place.

Lady Ross pointed out that Young had an extensive criminal record and was previously imprisoned for assault and robbery, and jailed him for eight years.

Baxter and Guthrie were also found guilty of being concerned in the supply of heroin in Oakley, in Fife, between March and July 2023 and Baxter was convicted of being supplying amphetamines on 27 July 2023 at Duffy Place.

Baxter was sentenced to 12 years in prison after the judge said he also had a bad record, featuring crimes of dishonesty, violence and drug trafficking.

She jailed Guthrie for 11-and-a-half years, saying his criminal record was not as extensive as those of his co-accused, but did include a conviction for wilful fire raising.

Drew Mackenzie, representing Young, said his background of offending was set against a history of drug involvement, but he now appeared to recognise the impact of drug abuse on his behaviour.

Defence counsel Jonathan Crowe said Baxter he had a number of medical conditions and was previously addicted to heroin, but had been on methadone for over a year.

Solicitor advocate James Keegan KC, for Guthrie, said: "No reason was advanced by him for being involved in fire raising."