A patient at the University Hospital of Wales allegedly caused nearly $60,000 worth of damage after causing a fire by smoking in bed, according to ITV.
Lee Williams is accused of starting the blaze at Wales’ largest hospital after lighting up a cigarette while wearing an oxygen mask. (RELATED: Michigan Hospital Worker Arrested For Allegedly Detonating Explosives)
A patient at Wales’ largest hospital caused almost £50,000 of damage – resulting in dozens of people being evacuated – after causing a fire by smoking in bedhttps://t.co/I8vdoQ6sLY
— ITV News (@itvnews) November 12, 2020
Upon finding smoking materials, a nurse reportedly moved them to a cupboard to try to prevent Williams from smoking, ITV reports.
Nurses were later alerted of a quickly-spreading fire in Williams’ room. As a result of the fire, Williams reportedly suffered from a “blackened nose” and other injuries to his mouth.
Evacuations ensued due to the blaze, according to ITV.
Prior to the fire, Williams was reportedly convicted 25 times for 68 previous offenses.
Williams’s attorney Laurence Jones suggests that Williams “may have been in a state of confusion through self-medication,” according to ITV.
“The dangers of the fire were made clear to you. Your response was: ‘I don’t care, it is my decision to have a cigarette,'” Judge David Wynn Morgan reportedly said to Williams.
Judge Morgan sentenced Williams to five years in custody, according to the report.