Sheringham teenagers sentenced after arson
A public toilet was set on fire
Two teenage girls have been found guilty of setting fire to a public toilet in Sheringham last year.
In the early hours of Tuesday 1 December 2020, tissue paper was set alight within public toilets on the East Promenade, causing fire damages worth over ÂŁ1000.
Following the incident, two teenage girls, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were arrested and each later charged with arson, after they shared footage of the incident on social media.
One of the teenagers, aged 14, was also charged with criminal damage, after causing damage to a police custody cell, following her arrest.
The 14-year-old girl appeared at Norwich Youth Court on Thursday 18 February 2021, where she pleaded guilty to both charges. She was issued with an eight-month referral order to a Norfolk Youth Offender panel, and made to pay ÂŁ150 compensation.
The other teenager, aged 17, appeared at Norwich Magistrates' Court on Thursday 11 February 2021 where she pleaded guilty to the arson charge, along with two counts of assault against another teenager on 9 September last year.
For the offence of arson, she was issued with a six-month referral order to a Norfolk Youth Offender panel, and was ordered to pay ÂŁ540 compensation. For the assault charges she received an additional 6-month referral order, and was made to pay compensation of ÂŁ150.
Sheringham beat manager Ian Smith said:
"Between them these girls have repeatedly caused misery and risk to this community. We won't tolerate this kind of behaviour, and I'm pleased that the victims of their crimes are being offered some form of justice.
"I only hope that this provides these teenagers with the wake-up call and guidance they need to stop their selfish, criminal acts."