A teenage arsonist who put people’s lives in danger after setting fire to a double-decker bus, will not face a prison sentence.
The 15-year-old set a back seat alight on the top-deck of the number 154 as it passed through Sutton in the early hours of the morning.
The bus was carrying between six and seven passengers during the blaze, with five or six sat on the bottom deck, and one man sat in a front seat upstairs.
The blaze caused £50,000 of damage, with CCTV footage showing it took less than four minutes for the entire top deck to fill with thick black smoke.
The arsonist boarded the bus with another youth in the Roundshaw Estate in Wallington, at 5.07am on Sunday, April 6.
CCTV footage later showed the teen started the fire alone as the other youth watched on.
The entire top-deck filled with thick black smoke
The teens hopped off in Ringstead Road, Sutton, shortly before the back of bus burst into flames.
The top deck passenger rushed downstairs to alert the driver, who stopped in Benhill Avenue, Sutton, and evacuated the bus before the fire brigade arrived.
Officers later arrested the two youths in Westmead Road, Sutton, after carrying out a search of the area.
The boy, who was 14 years-old when he started the fire, was given a youth rehabilitation order at Camberwell Green Youth Court on Tuesday, October 14.
The order means he will serve a three month curfew to January 13 next year.
He also has to pay a £15 victim surchage, and keep to an improved education and supervision arrangement, which is yet to bet set in place.
The blaze caused £50,000 worth of damage
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