Christopher Culshaw: Blind Bight bumbling burglar sets bungalow ablaze
A cold crook who had busted into a sewing studio in Skye so he could have a nice warm nap instead ended up facing the heat in court.
South East
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An inept intruder inadvertently started a fire in a bungalow he had broken into after leaving a candle burning while he had 40 winks, a court has heard.
Christopher Culshaw fell asleep after getting inside the Skye property, used as a sewing teaching workshop, only to wake up with his bedding on fire.
The Blind Bight 31-year-old pleaded guilty to damage, theft and drug charges at the Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The court heard Culshaw broke into a small bungalow at the rear of a Skye property some time overnight on August 23, 2019, by removing a sliding door from its hinges.
Once inside he drank cups of coffee then made up a bed out of fabric before getting his head down, only to be woken by the smell of burning.
A wax candle had fallen onto the carpet and started a small blaze, which Culshaw put out by using some of the bedding he had been laying down in.
He managed to get out without any injuries or causing too much damage, but he had left his fingerprints behind on a coffee cup.
When later interviewed he told police he wasn’t trying to steal anything and was only looking for somewhere warm and dry as he had nowhere else to stay.
Nothing was stolen from the bungalow in that incident.
But when he broke into two sheds at a Seaford bowling club later that same night, he did nick some goodies.
He took two drills, some scales and a spray can valued at a total of $549.
And in September last year he was nabbed with a vial of GHB after he had been seen acting erratically on Seaford pier.
His defence lawyer Scott Kaiser said Culshaw was homeless at the time of the crimes and was simply trying to find somewhere to sleep when the accident happened.
He said his client, a former train builder, had had difficulties with ice, GHB and alcohol which he was now getting treatment for.
Magistrate Vicky Prapas said while she accepted he was looking for somewhere to stay when he caused the fire, he also stole tools from a community club.
She said Culshaw needed to remain drug-free or any more offending would likely end up with him serving periods of imprisonment.
He was convicted and sentenced to do 100 hours of unpaid work.
