Arsonist John Watson jailed for starting fire at Lincoln County Hospital A&E department

A patient who caused £2 million worth of damage after starting a fire in a hospital A&E department has been jailed for more than six years.

John Watson, 57, was captured on CCTV prowling the corridors of Lincoln County Hospital before igniting the contents of a medical trolley last March.

The department had to be closed for 48 hours after damage was caused to a CT scanner, MRI machine and a mobile ultrasound machine as a result of the blaze.

A court heard Watson entered the hospital as a patient before setting the fire in an imaging room just off the main A&E department in the early hours of March 29, 2022.

Sick and injured patients had be evacuated from the busy A&E at 2.55am as there was a "huge risk" of igniting medical oxygen piping running through the hospital.

Detectives found CCTV showing a man wearing a distinctive black jacket with Elvis on the back – later identified as Watson – in an area being engulfed with smoke before he was moved by firefighters.

There were no other people captured on CCTV in the area at the time of the fire starting and Watson was arrested at around 11am that day.

Watson, of Sleaford, admitted arson on January 20 and was jailed for six years and nine months yesterday (Monday).

He was also ordered to serve a further five years on licence after being sentenced in his absence at Lincoln Crown Court.

The court was told how damage to diagnostic equipment meant that more than 3,300 patient appointments for diagnostic tests were delayed.

Six crews from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue were required to tackle the fire, which caused a total of £1.9 million worth of damage.

Detective Sergeant Dave Patten, from Lincoln CID, said after the case: "This was one of the most serious and reckless cases of arson we have ever dealt with; the potential for harm should that fire have escalated is unthinkable.

"The impact on the community and the hospital teams has been profound, with patients having to be diverted to other treatment centres, and clean up and repair work impacting the use of a busy emergency department.

"This would have been very frightening for staff and patients, and I hope that today’s sentencing goes some way to providing some comfort that justice has been served against the individual responsible."

A spokesperson for the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Lincoln, Boston, Grantham and Louth hospitals, said: “The fire at Lincoln County Hospital in March 2022 caused £2 million worth of damage to both the hospital buildings and vital equipment.

"This included severe fire damage to one room and smoke damage to surrounding areas in the X-ray Department, irreparable damage to a CT scanner, DEXA machine and ultrasound machine, as well as smoke damage to other equipment.

“It also caused potential harm to patients in the community who required emergency care during the 48 hours that the department had to remain closed as a result of damage caused by the fire.

“Recovery from the fire has been a lengthy process whilst we have procured replacement equipment for that damaged.

"This unfortunately caused delays to diagnostic testing for the patients of Lincolnshire over a number of months.

“We are so proud of our staff who responded so quickly on the night of the fire to keep patients and colleagues safe, as well as the hard work of colleagues who have helped us recover from this devastating incident over the last nine months.

“We also want to thank Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, Lincolnshire Police and our colleagues across the health and social care system for their support.”