Members of the north-east farming community today branded the sentence handed out to a man who torched an Aberdeenshire farmer’s property and caused more than £300,000 of damage “pathetic”.
In the aftermath of the blaze, 27 cows had to be slaughtered because their unborn calves would have died inside them and otherwise rotted.
But Milne, who’s also a farmer, avoided jail time and was instead told to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and be supervised for two years with a six-month curfew.
It’s the equivalent of approximately one hour of unpaid work for every £1,000 of devastation he inflicted on the farmer and his business.
Sheriff Philip Mann followed the Scottish Sentencing Council’s guidelines on sentencing young offenders when he ordered the punishment and told the accused, who pled guilty: “You’re regarded as not having reached full maturity.”
But a close friend of his victim told the Press and Journal: “It really wasn’t a good result. It was a bit of a joke. It’s really pathetic.
“There are a lot of things, which are a lot more minor, that you would actually get a more severe sentence for.
“I would have thought the minimum should have been a custodial sentence for wilful fire-raising.
‘Insurance doesn’t cover everything’
“You’re always classified as an adult at the age of 16 or 18. For the court to say he’s immature at 21, that’s pretty bad.”
Milne targeted a Thainstone Mart auctioneer’s property because he wrongly believed that the man had ordered security to remove him on November 26 2019.
A friend of the auctioneer said the real cost of the tragedy was even higher than was said in court.
He explained: “Obviously insurance doesn’t cover everything. It’s been really hard for the family. They’ve gone through a pretty horrendous two or three years and are massively out of pocket”.
It’s understood Milne’s grandparents farmed on land just half a mile from the crime scene.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the family friend added: “Milne has known the farm ever since he’s been little.
“He knew there was cattle in the sheds. He knew exactly what he was doing.
“But obviously, if you have a decent solicitor and spin a sad story, you get off with it.”
The source said the local farming community is “appalled” by the sentence.
‘A very evil deed’
He said: “It was just a very evil deed to do. When you get a sentence like that it’s pretty crappy.
“There’s no community service that is ever going to pay back £1000 an hour to the community.”
The friend added: “I feel sorry for the fire service, the police and taxpayers – considering the hours, cost and resources spent on this.
“It just feels like the courts are operating a catch and release policy.”
Intense flames
On the night of the inferno, the flames were so intense that another shed between 10 and 25-metres-away from the fire was stripped of its paintwork.
The heat of the blaze also set fire to the tyres of a trailer, even though it was almost 20 metres from the fire.
NFU Scotland vice-president, Andrew Connon said: “We’d expect the law to be there to provide the protection to farmers and rural community.
“We rely on the judicial system to be up-to-scratch to act as a deterrent.
“NFU Scotland engages with Police Scotland to raise awareness of rural crime and we look to hold events to try and provide examples of deterrents to farmers”.
North-east Tory MSP Liam Kerr added: “This thoughtless act could have ended in the loss of human life.
“As it was, a deliberate and premeditated fire threatened livelihoods and caused animal suffering.
“Because of the soft-touch sentencing imposed by the SNP, serious offences often attract a community-based sentence.
“But that approach fails to consider the needs of victims.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson commented: “Sentencing decisions in individual cases are the responsibility of the courts who take into account all the facts and circumstances of any given case.”
