Paul Johnson used petrol to ignite the doors of Edinburgh’s Guru Nanak Sikh Temple and Leith Methodist Church this summer because he wanted to make a “political statement”.
He told police he wanted to watch the premises burn down and hoped to be arrested.
Johnson, 49, admitted two charges of willful fireraising, aggravated by religious prejudice, on August 28 when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday. He will be sentenced next month.
The court heard the attack on the Sikh temple, to the danger of life of a family inside, was unplanned and was only carried out when unemployed Johnson came across the building.
The court heard how, on the evening of August 27, Johnson bought a container and, later, fuel worth £3.51 from a local petrol station.
Shortly before 5am on August 28, a man heading to the temple to pray spotted that fire had taken hold on one side of one of the doors and immediately raised the alarm with a man sleeping inside in the family quarters.
The fire service was then alerted and used two engines, two high reach vehicles and 11 firefighters to bring the blaze under control.
Around a couple of hours later, the caretaker at Leith Methodist Church noticed a smell of petrol and burning and cleaned up the area around the front door after realising there was no fire damage of note.
He later contact police after hearing about the incident at…
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