Don’t Try This At Home: Schoolboy Burns Down Block Of Flats After Recreating Science Experiment

A teenage who attempted to recreate a science experiment at home has caused £3million worth of damage by burning down a block of flats.

Teachers had shown pupils how to make a laboratory Bunsen burner during a chemistry lesson.

But the 14-year-old decided to try it at home – and used an empty can of Monster energy drink and hairspray to recreate it.

He says he tried to follow what he’d learned in school by making a “constant flame, an inch high” which “got bigger when you squeezed it”.

But after leaving it burn for five seconds he put it on his bedside table, near some clothes. He told police he was convinced he had blown it out.

In an attempt to hide the smell, he opened a window and sprayed air freshener and then went downstairs.

But, half an hour later, the smoke alarm went off and the boy’s mother, after finding the bedroom full of thick smoke, evacuated their home.

The total damage is around £3million (SWNS)

The fire ripped through the rest of the block of flats in Plymouth, Devon, on June 3 this year.

The building was gutted causing £3million worth of damage. More than 100 people had to be rehomed.

Prosecuting, Gareth Warden, said "The full estimate was between £2.5m and £3m worth of damage and some of those who lost all their possessions had no insurance whatsoever and are still living in bed and breakfast accommodation.

“Since the fire, none of the residents have been able to return to the building and some are still living in bed and breakfast accommodation."

Firefighters tackle the blaze (SWNS)

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spoke quietly as he pleaded guilty to one charge of arson with intent to endanger life at Plymouth Youth Court, despite saying it was an accident.

Magistrates told the boy that the level of damage – when compared to other similar cases – meant it carried a sentence "substantially more than two years” in a Young Offenders’ Institution.

He was granted unconditional bail and will be sentenced hearing at Plymouth Crown Court on October 23.

(Picture credit: SWNS)