Opinion

Concern over Larne fire engine sentencing

The episode which involved a stolen fire engine speeding recklessly through Larne, and smashing into nine parked cars before careering through gardens and striking a row of terraced houses, could easily have had fatal consequences.

Larne fire station was left so extensively damaged during the incident in March, 2016, that it has since been unable to reopen, and the final overall repair bill is likely to be in excess of £160,000.

However, Robert Duffin (68), who was named in court as the main perpetrator, was previously ruled by psychiatrists as unfit to stand trial, while his 20-year-old accomplice, Ross Clarke, who told police that he drank a crate of beer before driving off in the vehicle, was yesterday described as a `vulnerable adult', placed on probation and given a community service order.

It is very difficult to see how an outcome of this nature will deter other offenders, and it will be widely felt that Clarke, as the only individual who was actually convicted in the case, was treated with remarkable leniency.