Tyre firm manager is guilty of arson

A man has been found guilty of setting fire to the Black Country tyre depot where he worked to cover up evidence of a £30,000 fraud he had carried out.

David Bratt, aged 58, who was the former manager of the depot, was convicted of arson by a jury yesterday following a four-day trial held at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

He had already admitted fraud which raked in £30,210 for himself by siphoning off tyres delivered to the company to sell over a 17-month period.

But Bratt had denied starting the blaze at the Hi-Q depot, in King Street, Dudley, on September 10 2009 when he realised the fraud was about to be uncovered. The jury took less than an hour to return its guilty verdict.

Bratt, formerly of Jason Road, Wollescote, Stourbridge, will be sentenced on June 27.

The court heard Bratt had received a phone call from his manager Christopher Suttle at around 5.30pm on September 10 2009.

Mr Suttle had told Bratt discrepancies had been found in the company accounts and he would be picking up invoices the following day to see the signature on them.

After other workers had left the building, Bratt had set the burglar alarm and minutes later fire crews received calls to attend a blaze at the building.

Mr Geoffrey Dann, prosecuting, said fire crews had been able to see the smoke from half-a-mile away.

Fire investigation experts had located the flashpoint of the blaze to either on or below shelves where paperwork was stored, he added.

He said it was "extremely unlikely" the fire could have been started by someone outside the building.

Mr Simon Hanns, defending, said there was no documentation relating to the fraud matter in the building so starting the fire would have been "pointless".

"This fraud was about to be discovered. Starting this fire would not help him to avoid it," he added.

Judge Helen Hughes said Bratt, who now lives in Somerset, was of previous good character. He was granted bail until his next court appearance.