Man laughed and took selfies as his flat burned
He has now admitted setting the blaze deliberately
A man has admitted laughing and taking selfies as fire crews tackled a blaze he intentionally set at his Ayr flat.
Convicted sex offender Freddie Pritchard – who had only been released from prison weeks earlier – lit a cigarette on his bed containing aerosol canisters and vapes before leaving the room in May of this year.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and the building – which contained three other flats as well as commercial units below - had to be evacuated as thick smoke billowed.
Pritchard initially claimed the blaze had been caused by a faulty phone charger.
But, the 29-year-old today pleaded to wilful-fire-raising as he appeared in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow.
He will be sentenced next month.
Pritchard had been living at the council flat in Main Street having been freed from prison on March 1st, 2024.
One of the other tenants at the block returned home shortly after the blaze was started.
He initially heard an alarm in Pritchard's home before, around 10 minutes later, noticing flames and a large plume of black smoke emerging from the flat below into his.
The neighbour was in a "panic" and feared he would not be able to get his cats out in time.
The fire brigade then arrived and the man and his pets were helped out of the smoke-filled building.
Prosecutor BJ Gill said Pritchard had taken "no action" to alert his neighbours to what had happened.
The court heard a total of 10 fire officers took two hours to quell the blaze.
Pritchard stood out in the street with one of the other tenants at the time.
He claimed he had come home from hospital and that his phone charger had "caught fire".
Mr Gill told the hearing: "While he was waiting in the street, Pritchard was acting in a light-hearted manner.
"He was taking selfies and photos of the fire engines. He was phoning friends as well as laughing and joking."
A probe later concluded the fire was deliberate.
Days later, Pritchard admitted to witnesses he had used a cigarette to start the blaze but had "not expected it to take hold the way it had".
He claimed his aim was either to be charged or to return home to live with his parents.
South Ayrshire Council estimated the repair bill to be between £25,000-£30,000.
No one was fortunately hurt by what happened.
Lord Young remanded Pritchard in custody as sentencing was adjourned until December 10 in Edinburgh.