Three vehicles destroyed in Cookstown car park ‘arson’

TWO men appeared in court on Thursday morning accused of starting a fire in an underground car park in Cookstown which caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Strabane Magistrates Court heard that three parked vehicles were destroyed in the alleged arson attack on Tuesday, which also caused significant damage to the car park’s roof.

Paul Madden (35), who resides in a hostel on Molesworth Street in Cookstown, is accused of arson and being reckless as to whether life would be endangered. A second man, Craig Watterson (30), who is also from Cookstown, appeared on the same charge but has also been accused of criminal damage in a separate incident on the same day.

The court heard the fire, which police believe was started deliberately, occurred just after 3pm.

It was in an underground public car park that is attached to a number of shops and a new apartment complex on Molesworth Street.

Residents from the nearby flats had to be evacuated while members of the fire service tackled the blaze.

Police say that Madden and Watterson were both spotted on CCTV provided to them by the owners of the apartment complex. It allegedly shows them entering and leaving the car park at the time of the fire.

They say that both men are identifiable from the images captured and that they can be seen running from the car park to a hostel where Madden resides across the road.

Police believe the two men started the fire trying to damage a parked car of a resident of the apartment complex. Watterson is further accused of criminal damage as police say on the same day he damaged CCTV equipment at a nearby shop. The court heard that Watterson has 14 previous criminal damage convictions.

District judge Alana McSorley granted both men bail, provided they find a suitable address that can be agreed upon with police.

Both have strict conditions that include that they are not to enter Cookstown or contact witnesses or people who live at the apartment complex next to where the fire was started.

Madden and Watterson will appear again before Dungannon Magistrates Court on April 19.