Paint dustsheets set on fire by drunken decorator

A man got so drunk while decorating his daughter’s home that he set fire to dust sheets and a pot of paint.

James Raeside, 58, appeared before Stirling Sheriff Court this week and pleaded guilty to causing the blaze, behaving in a threatening and abusive manner and resisting arrest.

Raeside is the former partner of Christine Henley, whose body was found in January near Stirling Railway Station after she’d been missing for almost two months.

The court heard how Christine and their daughter had left Raeside drinking cider into the early hours of the morning, while decorating the living room of the St Ninians home on August 23, 2014.

But when they smelled smoke they came downstairs to find dustsheets on fire and Raeside sitting on the couch with a lighter in his hand.

Fiscal depute Adrian Fraser said: “Throughout the day his daughter noticed his behaviour started to change as he drank.

“Dust sheets in the garden were extinguished and police were called.

“They asked the accused to open the door and he shouted ‘f*** off’ and ‘ Yous come in here and see what happens’.

“They went in through patio doors, and saw newspapers which appeared to have been set on fire, and a fire- damaged paint pot directly in front of the accused.

“When police were trying to put handcuffs on him he became aggressive, tensing his arms and pulling away. He was cautioned and charged.”

Defence solicitor Virgil Crawford said Raeside, of William Booth Place, was feeling low at the time of the offence, after his younger brother had passed away unexpectedly.

He said the accused had an alcohol problem, and was put under further strain when the mother of his children went missing.

Christine Henley’s body was found on January 19 on wasteland next to the railway station car park. The 49-year-old was last seen at 4pm on November 26 when she left her daughter’s house in St Ninians to go into town and meet a friend. Christine had two daughters Kelly, 31, and Carla, 29, with Raeside, and one eight-year-old grandson.

Sheriff Wyllie Robertson told Raeside: “I note that there has been a period of good behaviour.”

He sentenced him to a Community Payback Order, to undergo 12 months of supervision.

He added: “I expect you to engage fully with those who are providing support to you, particularly in relation to alcohol. This is an alternative to custody.”