Film hopes to warn about the impact of arson

A POWERFUL new film based on a huge blaze at a Grade II listed building has been released in an attempt to warn people about the consequences of deliberately setting fires.

- By KRISTY DAWSON

Two teenage boys were sent to custody after they torched Henderson Hall in Newcastle, causing £15m worth of damage. The males, both 17, set fire to a shower curtain inside the building in Heaton, which is owned by Newcastle University, and the blaze spread across the property.

The Youth Court in North Tyneside heard how they were bragging, boasting, recording the incident on their mobile phones and posting on Snapchat.

They also posed for a picture together while each smoking a cigarette.

The court heard how they gained entry to the former student accommodation, which had been derelict for years, through a damaged window on June 8, 2023.

Video footage, which they captured at the scene, shows one of the youths trying to set fire to a mattress and the other blowing it out. In another video, the same defendant can be seen using a purple lighter to set fire to the shower curtain.

The court in North Shields heard how a member of university staff, who is based at the campus, saw a large cloud of smoke.