A teenage boy set fire to the top deck of a moving bus full of passengers in a terrifying arson attack.
Logan Pritchard, then 17, torched seats on a Stagecoach 10a service travelling from St Helens to Liverpool.
The driver was forced to stop the bus and evacuate the remaining passengers after the yob fled leaving the bus ablaze.
Firefighters attended the scene but fortunately no one was injured by the fire, which Liverpool Crown Court today heard cost Stagecoach around £30,000.
Prichard got on the bus in Bridge Street, St Helens and got off in Warrington Road, Prescot, where the incident happened.
The now 18-year-old was identified by police following a CCTV appeal run in the ECHO alongside photos of the damage.
Detectives described the attack, at around 11.15am on Tuesday, January 28 last year, as "beyond belief" and "utterly irresponsible".
Pritchard, of Hillside Avenue, Denton's Green, St Helens, admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered in a short hearing this morning.
Judge David Aubrey, QC, asked what damage was done to the bus.
Simon Duncan, prosecuting, said: "The seats on the upper deck at the rear were burnt out, in excess of £16,000 of damage plus consequential damage, the bus being out of use and so forth, so a total loss of over £30,000."
Mr Duncan said he and Jeremy Hawthorn, defending, had discussed whether a psychiatric report might be required "given the nature of the matter".
However, Mr Hawthorn confirmed there was no history of mental health issues and said: "It doesn't have the feel of a mental health situation."
Judge Aubrey said: "I know usually the court orders a psychiatric report but this is recklessness and stupidity and everything else to mind, isn't it?"
Mr Hawthorn agreed and said there was nothing over the 15 months that had passed since to suggest any sort of "pattern" of offending.
The judge said he would require a pre-sentence report from the Probation Service and added: "I will say of course if the pre-sentence report reveals anything, then a judge may well have to review the situation."
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Judge Aubrey adjourned sentencing until May 26 and remanded Pritchard on bail, but warned the teenager that he may yet face a custodial sentence.
He said: "In my judgement you have been well advised by Mr Hawthorn.
"A judge will want to know a lot more about you and the circumstances before passing sentence.
"All sentencing options clearly have to remain open to a sentencing judge. That does include custody."
The bus was evacuated close to the junction with Smith Street and Pritchard made off in the direction of Martin Close.
Speaking at the time of the incident, Detective Inspector Tony O'Brien, of Merseyside Police, said: "Thankfully the driver and passengers were unharmed, but the sheer recklessness of starting a fire within a moving vehicle with multiple passengers is beyond belief."
Police later released images of two passengers they wished to speak to, the first showing Pritchard and the second picturing a witness who was on the top deck during the blaze.
Det Insp O'Brien said: "Starting a fire on a moving bus is an utterly irresponsible act and it is very fortunate that no one was harmed by the actions of the suspect."
In the aftermath of the arson attack, Stagecoach said it was "urgently reviewing" the circumstances surrounding the fire and assisting the police investigation.
A spokesman for the company said: "We can confirm that a fire was started on the top deck of one of our buses travelling on January 28.
"Thankfully, all passengers were safely evacuated by our driver and no one was injured.
"However, this is a serious and dangerous incident and we are urgently reviewing what the circumstances around the fire were.
"Vandalism is a serious offence."
