Thug caged for setting homeless man on fire in Glasgow

Graham Moffat admitted attempting to murder Mareks Vilkins just before 2am on August 2, 2018, on East Campbell Street.

A thug who tried to murder a homeless man by torching his sleeping bag as he slept in it was yesterday jailed for six-and-a-half years.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Graham Moffat, 52, admitted attempting to murder Mareks Vilkins just before 2am on August 2, 2018, on East Campbell Street in the city’s east end.

Moffat, wearing a red jacket, was caught on CCTV, pulling out a lighter and setting the sleeping bag alight, then walking away.

Judge Lord Matthews told Moffat that his victim had woken up “due to the heat, fumes and smoke coming from his sleeping bag. There were no flames.

He added: “This was both his and your good fortune. Had fate taken another turn, he’d have met a horrible death and you would be facing a murder charge.”

The court heard that homeless Moffat, a former fishery worker, has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and psychiatric issues but at the time of the murder bid was legally responsible for his actions.

Prosecutor Liam Ewing said: “This took place at a set of steps at the main entrance to the Lodging House Mission.

“Around 10.30pm, Mr Vilkins arrived, lay in his sleeping bag with the hood partially covering his head – and fell asleep.

"Around 1.56am, Mr Vilkins was woken by head, fumes and smoke coming from the bottom of his sleeping bag.”

He managed to unzip it, scramble out and then beat out the fire with his arms.

Ewing added: “After putting out the fire, Mr Vilkins went back to sleep.”

Later that morning, he told staff at the Mission what had happened and they contacted police.

Moffat was in court to watch CCTV footage of the incident.

His defence counsel Sarah Livingstone described his behaviour in the clips as “bizarre”.

Livingstone added: “He has absolutely no recollection of doing this.”

Mareks was uninjured in the incident.