A railway worker set a colleague's overalls on fire at the end of a shift causing widespread burns to the victim's body, a court has heard. The victim was left with burns to his face, chest, and stomach and spent more than a week in hospital. He has said that what happened to him on the day in question will live with him forever.
Kyle Blackett's advocate told Swansea Crown Court that there had been no intent on the part of his client to cause injury in what he termed "industry-accepted horseplay".
Emily Jermin, prosecuting, told the court that on June 18 last year Blackett was one of a number of railway maintenance workers working at a location known as Jersey Marine South near Swansea. She said the men were wearing personal protective equipment or PPE in the form of flame-retardant overalls.
The barrister said that at the end of the shift, one of the defendant's colleagues unzipped his overalls before picking up a petrol generator - however, the fuel cap was loose and as a result petrol splashed down the front of the man's clothes.
The court heard Blackett then ignited the victim's overalls using a cigarette lighter, causing the man's T-shirt to catch fire and causing immediate pain subsequently rated by the victim as being "ten out of ten".
Realising what had happened the 41-year-old defendant pushed the burning man to the floor and tried to put the flames out. The casualty was taken to the nearby works van where he was doused with water to cool the burns before being taken to Morriston Hospital by Blackett.
The court heard the vicitm suffered "superficial, partial-thickness burns" to his jaw, neck, chest, and abdomen, singed facial hair, and corneal abrasions. In total 14 per cent of his body area was burnt, and he spent more than a week in hospital.
The prosecutor said Blackett subsequently attended a voluntary interview where he accepted what he had done and said it was "common practice" in the rail industry.
In an impact statement read to the court by the prosecution barrister, the vicitm said he was still trying to process why someone would set fire to another person, and he said his burns had not fully healed and were a daily reminder of what happened. The man said he suffers with regular nightmares and is no longer the confident, outgoing person he used to be. He added that what happened on the day in question would live with him forever.
Kyle Blackett, of Aberporth Road, Llandaff North, Cardiff, had previously pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. His plea was entered on the basis that is was "common practice" for rail workers to set fire to petrol on each other's overalls, and said petrol had been burned on him on previous occasions.
He said he had asked the complainant "Shall I light you up?" to which the complainant had replied "Go on then" before he used a cigarette lighter to ignite the petrol, and he said while he could not recall whether the man's overalls had been zipped up he accepted he had not checked. He said he accepted causing the injuries suffered by the man on a reckless basis.
The court heard the defendant has five previous convictions for nine offences including a common assault from 2009.
Abhinav Mohindru, for Blackett, said there had been no intent on the part of his client to cause injury in what he termed "industry-accepted horseplay", and he said his client had always displayed a significant degree of remorse. He said Blackett was no longer in work and was reliant on benefits.
Judge Catherine Richards told Blackett it was "astonishing" that he had done something so dangerous, and said it was "not just horseplay" regardless of what the defendant and his colleagues may have thought. She said it was only by luck that the outcome of the incident had been even more serious, for both the complainant and the defendant.
She said she would sentence in line with the accepted basis of plea that the defendant's actions had been reckless.
With a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea Blackett was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for 18 months, and he was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.
The judge said given the defendant was not in work she would not make a compensation order but said it would be open to the vicitm to seen financial redress through the civil courts.
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