Man facing jail over 5G phone mast arson case
8 June 2020, 06:17
A man who pleaded guilty to an arson attack on a 5G phone mast in Liverpool will be sentenced later on Monday.
Michael Whitty was warned he faces a prison sentence when he admitted arson at a hearing last month at Liverpool Crown Court.
The 47-year-old pleaded guilty to the attack on the telecommunications mast in Kirkby, Merseyside, on April 5.
Nobody was injured, but damage was caused to the structure - owned by Vodafone.
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Whitty, of Perimeter Road, Kirkby, will be sentenced later today at Liverpool Crown Court.
At a previous hearing Andrew Alty, defending, asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared to provide further details of Whitty's reasons for committing the offence.
He said: "There is more of an explanation behind this that he would like to give."
The court heard material from the defendant's mobile phone was being assessed by the prosecution.
Judge Andrew Menary QC adjourned the case until today.
He told Whitty: "You must recognise that it is inevitable there will be a custodial sentence in this case."
