Man who set himself alight during Lanarkshire salon attack has sentence reduced

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A construction worker who set himself alight during a fire attack on a beauty salon in Lanarkshire had his prison sentence cut today (March 15) following a legal challenge.

Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh rejected a plea to spare Alexander Bill a jail term but ruled that the 32 months imposed on him was excessive.They quashed the sentence imposed on him by a sheriff and jailed him for 27 months.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Bill, 35, was jailed earlier this year after admitting wilfully setting fire to an entrance door and hallway at premises in Bothwell Street, Hamilton, on May 11 in 2020, when he appeared at the Lanarkshire town's sheriff court.

A beauty salon housed in the building bore the brunt of £18,000 worth of damage caused during the blaze.Bill and another male were seen at the premises and fuel was poured in before the fire broke out and ignited the pair.Bill was taken to hospital after the blaze and underwent plastic surgery and skin grafts to his hands.Lawyers acting for Bill, of Netherplace Crescent, Glasgow, lodged an appeal against the prison term imposed on him following his sentence.Defence solicitor advocate Iain Paterson told appeal judges: "I would submit, in this day and age, sentencing an individual such as him to imprisonment ought to be a sentence