Former manager convicted of Hi-Q outlet fire

A former Hi-Q centre manager has been convicted of arson following a four-day trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court. David Bratt, who worked at Hi-Q’s King Street depot in Dudley, was found guilty of setting fire to the centre in order to destroy any evidence incriminating him in a £30,210 fraud he had carried out; the June 6 jury decision follows a previous admission of committing fraud over a 17-month period, during which he personally sold tyres delivered to the company.

Although Bratt denied starting the depot fire on September 10, 2009, the jury took less than an hour to return a guilty verdict. The jury heard that Bratt received a phone call from his manager, Chris Suttle, at approximately 5.30pm on the day of the blaze. Suttle told Bratt that discrepancies had been discovered in the company’s accounts and to further investigate this he would visit the depot the next day and collect invoices from Suttle to verify whose signature appeared on them. According to Geoffrey Dann, who spoke for the prosecution, experts investigating the fire pinpointed its flashpoint to either on or below shelves where paperwork was stored. He added it was “extremely unlikely” the fire could have been started by somebody outside the building.

Bratt has been granted bail until his next court appearance.