Railway arsonist is jailed for 10 years

Apr 20 2007 By Mark Cowan, Birmingham Mail

A FORMER railway worker has been jailed for 10 years for a campaign of vandalism and destruction on the West Midlands rail network.

Railway arsonist Allan David Nicol paralysed the network and affected up to one million passengers because he had a grudge with Network Rail.

Nicol carried out 12 attacks on trackside signal boxes over a 17-month period between June 2004 and November 2005 in a "sustained and carefully planned" campaign

Today, the 48-year-old was jailed for ten years after being found guilty at an earlier hearing to arson and being reckless as to whether lives would be endangered in connection with the final attack when a relay room in Rugeley, Staffordshire, was set alight.

Nicol, from of Lime Grove, Yardley, sat emotionless at Birmingham Crown Court as Judge Robert Orme also sentenced him to a total of six years concurrently for the other 11 counts of criminal damage he admitted.

Judge Orme said Nicol had become "obsessive" about perceived safety failings of track operators Network Rail.

While Nicol had expressed remorse for the disruption he caused, Judge Orme added: "I have found it worrying in this case because of your inability to explain to me how your anger and your frustration with Network Rail could have led to you causing such widespread damage and destruction."

Nicol's 17-month campaign of vandalism started in June 2004 and he carried out eight attacks until mysteriously stopping in July that year.

His campaign re-started 14 months later culminating in the most serious offence at a relay room in Rugeley.

But a receipt dropped at the scene was to prove his downfall as police traced it back to the shop and got CCTV footage of him that eventually led to his identification.