A boxing coach has been jailed for arson after setting fire to a bin in Bury town centre. Lee Geddis, 46, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to arson while being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
The court heard that on Saturday, April 18, Geddis had attended the Black Pub Inn on Bolton Street but was removed by security after being told he was barred. Geddis already had a blowtorch and light on his person.
Attempted fence fire
Later that evening, at about 1.45am, Geddis was on nearby Back Broad Street. He was seen trying to use the blowtorch to set fire to a wooden fence panel, which backed onto the Society nightclub on Silver Street. He was unsuccessful and then turned his attention to a bin, where he set fire to the contents and walked away. Onlookers soon realised what had happened, and the fire was quickly put out.
Recorder David Wood warned Geddis: “You are very lucky that the damage caused by your behaviour was not significantly worse than it was. Exactly why you did this is hard to ascertain. There is no doubt that this offence can only be met with a sentence of immediate custody.” The judge said that Geddis had behaved in an ‘erratic, impulsive and highly dangerous manner’.
Mental health decline
Defending, Mark Shanks said Geddis had been a 'hard working man' as a gym owner and a boxing coach, but that he had experienced a ‘very sharp deterioration’ in his mental health. He said that last year Geddis had been issued with a ‘threat to life’ warning by police, and that Geddis had ‘absolutely no idea’ where it had come from. His relationship broke down, he lost friends, and became effectively homeless, the court was told.
Mr Shanks said that Geddis had tried to receive support from mental health units prior to the incident, but that he had been told he ‘did not meet the criteria’.
Geddis, of Bury, was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.
