A mate of mine...
...when I was growing up named Bob, for that (really) was his name, was a total pyro and found like-minded company for that action with some dog-on-a-string-type lad named Gaz. We used to hang out by this stagnant pond at the side of an industrial estate that included a massive pallet storage area, about 80 yards to a side with some stacks, well, stacked very high indeed. We used to nick a pallet or two for a fire to get stoned by, doing the usual adolescent lads with a bonfire things - jump though it (awarding points for style), put aerosol cans/asbestos/satellite dishes of people we disliked on it etc.

One night when I wasn't present, Bob and Gaz decided that it might be fun to try setting the pallet storage itself alight, so they did. The flames could be seen for miles, tens of thousands of pounds worth of pallets were destroyed, nearby industrial units were damaged and so on - no-one got hurt though. The nee-naws were there for hours trying to put it out. It even made the local paper that week, where it appealed for anyone who knew about it to come forward. I remember Gaz kept the cutting from the paper.

Sadly, the last I heard Bob is a homeless alcoholic and as for Gaz, I havent heard anything of him for more than a decade - wouldn't put it past him to join some sort of survivalist cult - he was a bit of a nutter.
(thatblokeoverthere not quite as much an arsehole as I thought, Fri 4 Nov 2005, 12:30, Reply)