CONCERNS were raised last night about the sentence handed down to a man who wreaked havoc on a quiet residential street in Larne after stealing a fire engine.
Sinn Féin's Oliver McMullan, a former MLA for the area, said that many people had expected a prison term to be handed down to Ross Clarke due to the level of destruction he caused last year.
The "night of sheer madness", as described in court, ended with a £160,000 final repair bill including £83,000 for damage to the fire station and engine; £23,500 for four homes and £53,500 for nine cars damaged.
While a judge said it was "by the grace of God that no-one was seriously hurt" Clarke was sentenced to 100 hours community service and two years probation.
Read more: Man convicted over fire engine rampage escapes jail
Mr McMullan pointed to the large repair bill for damaged homes and cars at Glenarm Road which he said had completely shaken the residents in the area and left many "severely out of pocket".
"The judge will have his own reasons and I know this was a vulnerable man but the fact he did not go to jail will cause a lot of people to raise their eyebrows. Somebody could have been easily killed through his actions," Mr McMullan said.
"I'm sure he (Clarke) had no money to pay for the damage himself so residents had to pay for it out of their own insurance."
