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Arsonist Gemma Peat has been sentenced to 25 months in prison after starting a fire in a ladies toilet which spread through Nottingham Railway Station and caused millions of pounds of damage.

Peat, 34, pleaded guilty to arson, without lawful excuse, damaging by fire the female toilet at the station belonging to Network Rail on January 12, 2018.

The massive blaze caused major disruption for hundreds of train passengers and disabled roads surrounding the station.

It took 100 firefighters 27 hours to bring under control after a drugged up Peat went to the toilets to use heroin and crack cocaine.

Both drugs would have needed to be heated using a naked flame.

CCTV released by British Transport Police shows Peat using a walking stick to enter the toilets without paying.

After she walks out, the screen is filled with black smoke as the fire spreads.

Her barrister, Adrian Langdale, said, according to her basis of plea to the charge, she made it clear "she has little memory of what takes place next".

(Image: Notts Police)

"It is clear it was completely unbeknown to her that her actions had caused the start of that fire. It must have done," he said.

He said the fire must have smoldered in a flammable and plastic sanitary towel bin. There were no smoke detectors, sprinkler system or extinguishers near the toilet.

Prosecutor Grace Hale spoke in court last week about the 2012 renovation of the building, telling Nottingham Crown Court: "Had the refurbishment works been carried out more assiduously the fire would have been contained within the toilet block within one hour.

"There was a flaw in the refurbishment works. There was a gap in the roof space and the use of polystyrene material. All of those points contributed to the spread of the fire, causing the immense damage."

She had told Judge Gregory Dickinson QC, the Recorder of Nottingham, Network Rail owns the premises and lease the railway station and land to East Midlands trains.

"The refurbishment work in 2012 was commissioned by Network Rail", she said.

The judge had asked: "Were Network Rail aware?"

Mrs Hale had replied: "They are now. They were made aware of it by the insurance experts who looked into the spread of the fire.

"All of those factors played a part in helping myself and those instructing consider the offer of the plea."

Mrs Hale amended the charge sheet to add new alternative allegations over the fire.

Peat, who had been living in Wilford Crescent, The Meadows, pleaded not guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered on January 12 last year.

But she admitted the lesser charge which she was sentenced on.

Mrs Hale had also said those instructing her and police officers had two conferences for five hours considering long and hard whether to accept the plea to the lesser charge.

"The defendant is willing to accept her culpability with a plea to arson which, I say, is also a serious offence in the circumstances," she had explained.

The judge had asked about the cost of the damage to the station and Mrs Hale said it was £5.6 million.

British Transport Police released a statement after Peat pleaded guilty, saying: "On January 12, 2018, shortly before 6.30am, a major fire broke out in the female concourse toilets of Nottingham station which took over 100 fire crew 27 hours to bring under control.

"It resulted in the closure of the station, several roads and the nearby Tramlink while emergency services responded.

"Peat was arrested by officers on 2 February, 2018, following a painstaking investigation by British Transport Police detectives.

"Peat was arrested again in relation to the incident in January 2019 and charged with one count of arson with Intent. Today, the prosecution accepted her guilty plea to arson.

"The combined cost of damage and disruption to Network Rail and East Midlands trains currently stands at over £5.5million. The figure doesn’t include the impact on other businesses near the station or to the tram and road network."

Detective Sergeant Shanie Erwin had said: “This was a long and particularly complex investigation, which was made even more difficult by the fact the CCTV hard drive was very badly damaged in the blaze.

“As a result we spent many months working with specialist forensic teams to recover this essential evidence and present it to the Crown Prosecution Service.

“It has been a long wait for justice for those in Nottingham and I am pleased to see Peat change her plea to guilty today. The damage and disruption that her reckless behaviour has caused to the rail industry and those who use it is simply staggering.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the public for their patience in receiving answers and of course the invaluable support we received from our colleagues at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue and other industry partners throughout the investigation.”