A man set fire to one of Scotland’s oldest gun clubs after being blackballed from the organisation because of “concerns” about his interest in firearms, a court has heard.
Cameron Mills lit rubbish in a bin and pushed it against the door of the Callander Target Sports Club in Perthshire, which was founded in the aftermath of the Boer War.
He then hid in woods and watched as the flames licked the building.
Mills, 24, later told police he wanted to “cause economic damage” and shut down the 111-year-old club, which is also rented out to other groups, including Scotland’s Commonwealth shooting team as well as Police Scotland.
When he was arrested he ranted about its members, accusing them of holding “right-wing racist views”.
Prosecutor Lindsey Brooks told Stirling Sheriff Court: “The location is a sports and rifle club.
“Firearms on the premises are locked in cabinets.
“There’s something of a background here, in that the accused had previously approached members of the club with a view to becoming a member.
“There was some concern about the accused’s interest in guns, and his membership was refused.”
The court heard the premises were shut for Christmas at midday on December 23 2019.
Firemen were called out to the club just before 6pm on Christmas Day and found the club’s large wheelie bin was on fire and had been placed against the front door.
Parts of the building were alight, and the fire service quickly found the blaze was deliberate.
CCTV showed Mills placing the wheelie bin against the door, emptying some of the rubbish on to the ground, and setting it alight.
Mrs Brooks said that according to the fire service, the plastic bin would have burned “at a powerful rate”.
Wooden fascias and soffits above the door were damaged by the flames, though the door itself remained secure, and the premises suffered internal smoke damage.
Mills was “known to firemen in the local area” and was arrested at his home on January 3.
He was interviewed and confessed he had lit the bin with a gas lighter, before going into nearby woods to watch.
He said: “I saw the inside of the bin was burning. I started to walk off and noticed a lot of smoke. I kept walking and heard the fire engines on the way back home.”
When he was asked why he had done it, he said: “To cause economic damage, so it would be shut down.”
He was asked why he wanted the club shut down, and he said, “I think the club members have right-wing racist views and they support the Olympics being held in Tokyo.”
Mrs Brooks said: “He then made comments about the Japanese government not paying compensation to prisoners of war, their treatment of people during the war, the fact they still do whaling, and the treatment of dolphins.”
Mills, of Glengyle Place, Callander, a first offender and unemployed at the time of the offence, pleaded guilty to wilful fireraising at the club, in the town’s Camp Place.
Solicitor Mark Fallon, defending, said Mills regretted his actions.
He said: “It was Christmas Day and he knew the premises would be unoccupied so there would be very little risk of hurting anybody.”
The court heard Mills had been preliminarily assessed as being on the autistic spectrum.
Sheriff Wyllie Robertson deferred sentence until April 2021 for a supplementary social inquiry report, information about the cost of damage, for an autistic spectrum disorder report to be concluded, and for Mills to be of good behaviour.
He warned him: “What happens to you on the next occasion depends very much on the various reports that I have between now and then.”
Leaving court, Mills did not respond to a reporter’s request for a comment.
