A man who drank 38 cans of beer and half a bottle of vodka then tried to set alight petrol pumps last year has since turned his life around.
Court documents revealed after an argument at a private house party on November 20, Payne left and walked to a garage in Wyndham.
After consuming 38 cans of beer, half a bottle of vodka and other alcohol, Payne walked to the Wyndham township, arriving at the service station about 5am.
He then picked up the handle of a petrol nozzle and held a lit cigarette lighter to the petrol dripping out of the nozzle.
"I do not know whether it was because of a poor cigarette lighter, or whatever, but there was only a small spark," Judge Phillips states.
He then tried again, holding the lit lighter to the end of the nozzle.
"He clearly showed some persistence in relation to what his intention was."
A small spark fell to the ground, starting a fire. He put the handle down among the flames and walked over to sit on the grass of the forecourt.
He tried to do the same again for a third time while smoking a cigarette, the document states.
Payne then lay down in front of one of the pumps and slept for about an hour.
After he awoke, he put all the handles back in their cradles.
The whole incident was caught by closed-circuit television cameras.
The event had caused Payne to have a changed attitude about his life and had stopped his substance abuse, the court document stated.
Judge Phillips said Payne had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder. He had been working with the ACC on his own rehabilitation, which included a shift away from alcohol and drugs.
Because Payne had served a significant time on bail, he had already served the punitive aspect of his sentence and wanted the focus to now turn to his rehabilitation, Judge Phillips said.
Judge Phillips sentenced Payne to 12 months’ intensive supervision with judicial monitoring and ordered him to pay $715 reparation.
