London:
A British man has been jailed for six years for accidentally burning down a factory in 2012 by throwing away his cigarette in fear of his bosses that resulted in damages worth 25 million pounds.
Colin Goulding, 31, destroyed the Real Crisp factory in Crumlin, near Newport, South Wales, when he sneaked away for a smoking break on the factory floor.
He worked on a production line boxing packets of crisps, the Daily Mirror reported.
Mr Goulding broke company policy by bringing cigarettes and a lighter down to a storeroom on the factory floor where he was surrounded by flammable material.
Newport Crown Court heard Goulding was worried about being caught smoking by his bosses and threw his cigarette away in a hurry.
But it landed on a pile of crisp packet wrappers, starting a blaze which engulfed the factory in just 10 minutes.
More than than 100 workmates lost their jobs after the fire, including Goulding's parents who also worked there.
Judge Richards, sentencing him to six years and three months behind bars at Newport Crown Court, said: "This is far and away the most serious arson I have ever dealt with as a judge in these courts. This was a ridiculous thing to do."
"The wholly exceptional circumstance in this case is the amount of damage accompanied by the loss suffered by, not only the company, but also the work force and community," the judge was quoted as saying by the daily.
Goulding, who has already spent 15 months in custody since he was remanded in September 2012, will have to serve at least half of his sentence in prison.
The court heard the defendant, who has learning difficulties and is said to have the "intellectual level" of an 11 to 13-year-old, started the fire at the factory on September 20, 2012, when he flicked a lit cigarette in a flammable area.
Matthew Roberts, prosecuting, said lighting a cigarette in the factory had "immediate, serious and obvious risks".
He told the court the factory contained around 10,000 litres of cooking oil in its fryers, as well as 30,000 litres in a tanker outside.
The judge described the factory as "like a tinderbox".