A man accused of setting several fires in Alexandra, including the fire which badly damaged the town's recycling centre, told a colleague he had set a workmate's car alight, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
Aaron Gourlay (43) has pleaded not guilty to arson of Wastebusters Recycling Centre in Alexandra, three other charges of arson relating to vehicle fires, and two charges of intentional damage relating to vehicles.
Lauree O'Neill, a site manager at Wastebusters, told the court of a visit by Gourlay to her home in June 2015.
Ms O'Neill said that while the two drank, Gourlay told her he had set fire to a car owned by a workmate at Wastebusters, Frank Harris .
''Just that he had burnt it out, lit it on fire.''
Ms O'Neill said she was ''quite shocked'' by the revelation and Gourlay had told her he did so because Mr Harris owed him money.
Counsel Adrianna Pinnock asked Ms O'Neill whether she had asked Mr Harris about the debt, or seen Gourlay set the fire.
Ms O'Neill agreed she knew about those things only because of what Gourlay had said.
Valerie Joyce, shop manager at Wastebusters Alexandra, told the court Gourlay had a turbulent relationship with former centre manager Glenys Byrne.
The shop was next to the manager's office, and Ms Joyce said she had often heard the two of them yelling and had seen Gourlay leave swearing loudly.
''Quite often, sometimes twice a day,'' she said.
Ms Joyce told defence counsel Deborah Henderson Gourlay was not the only staff member who had difficulties with Ms Byrne.
Wastebusters Alexandra manager Susan Coutts also gave evidence yesterday.
She said that in 2015 the recycling business had recently been taken over by Wastebusters, and a major effort had been put into tidying up the site, especially the area surrounding the shop.
When questioned by Ms Pinnock whether items such as tyres or road cones might have been left near the shop, Ms Coutts could not rule it out, but could not remember anything like that.
When asked by Ms Pinnock if a list of former and current Wastebusters staff who might have been responsible for lighting the fire had been drawn up at a meeting the Monday after the blaze, Ms Coutts said no.
Her focus had been on trying to keep the business going and satisfy customers rather than wonder how the fire had started, Ms Coutts said.
Senior Constable Rowan Williams, of Alexandra, told the court about forensic tests he had carried out on materials found under the car of Alan Miles.
Items sent to ESR for further testing included a section of insulation tape wrapped around an incendiary device, and a roll of insulation tape seized from an Alexandra address.
Evidence of ESR scientist Sally Coulson read to the court was that it was ''moderately probable'' the section of tape with the device came from the same roll.
The trial, being heard by Judge Kevin Phillips before a jury of seven women and five men, is expected to end next week.
