Man who tampered with meter before fire sentenced

A man who bypassed an electricity meter, which was discovered after a house fire killed a teenager, has been given a suspended sentence.

Calvin Smith, 38, had advertised on social media that he could help people "beat the cost of living crisis" and get "free electricity" by tampering with their meters.

The process was initially thought to have caused a house fire which killed Leah Cassion, 18, in North Shields in January 2023. The charges were dropped after expert reports could not "realistically establish" whether the meter was responsible.

However, Smith still admitted abstracting electricity and was given a 16-week jail sentence suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Justice Cotter, sentencing, told Smith he was "not Robin Hood" and that illegally tampering with electricity meters left people and property at risk.

Leah Casson's mother Danielle Johnson knew Smith through her partner Craig Watson, and the defendant tampered with her pre-paid meter, allowing her to use hundreds of pounds of electricity for free between August and November in 2022, the court heard.

Earlier this month, she was handed a conditional discharge.

Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, said Smith only needed 10 minutes to bypass the meter.

The prosecution said experts found the method he used was different from others and was "inherently dangerous" in that it caused components to heat up, creating a "slow-burn" effect.

But in the last hearing, Wright said the expert evidence revealed it may not have caused the fire, which had been the prosecution's case.

Mark McKone KC, defending, said Smith, from North Shields, was seeking help with his drug addiction and his rehabilitation generally.

The judge said: "You are not Robin Hood, your thinking is warped on this.

"You justify it saying you are helping someone with limited options.

"It is a deliberate, dishonest act leaving people at risk. When fires happen in houses, people die."

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