Two teenagers have admitted torching the former Kitty’s nightclub building in Kirkcaldy.
The 16-year-old boys pled guilty to breaking into the disused Hunter Street premises and wilfully setting fire to a seating booth, leading to the fire spreading throughout the building and causing extensive damage.
The blaze was started on the afternoon of Sunday September 3 last year.
The pair, both from Kirkcaldy, are too young to be named.
They were said to be acting along with another person at the time.
Youths photographed and caught on CCTV
Details of the incident at the B-listed building, which had lain derelict since 2019, emerged during a closed doors hearing at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court this week.
Prosecutor Ronnie Hay told the court that a witness carrying out work on a neighbouring property saw three youths walk into a car park from Wemyssfield at around 2.10pm.
One had an aerosol can in his right hand.
The boys used a wheelie bin to climb onto a roof and a short time later they jumped over a wall onto Hunter Street and smoke started billowing from the roof of Kitty’s.
The fiscal depute said the witness, as he was waiting for the fire service to attend, saw the youths again and took photos of them on his mobile phone.
Mr Hay said a total of 25 fire appliances attended during the course of the fire and crews stayed at the scene for more than 19 hours.
At its height, a total of six fire appliances and two height appliances were used.
The fiscal said, due to the building being unsafe, the fire was tackled from the outside only.
The building was later demolished.
Troubled history
Mr Hay said the two boys were identified from CCTV.
Police said that nobody was injured in the fire.
The court heard the former nightspot was regularly used by local youths who gained entry by an insecure fire exit.
The Courier previously reported this was the third fire there in 2023.
Built in 1902, the premises operated as a Post Office for many years before it was converted into the Auld Post Hotel and nightclub.
In its heyday, the club was regarded as one of Fife’s premier nightclubs.
Mr Hay said the owner’s intention was to sell the building and convert it to flats, with planning permission granted.
Sheriff Robert More adjourned sentencing until September 23 for to obtain background reports and continued their bail.
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