A man who caused a quarter of a million pounds worth of damage to a Quaker Meeting House has admitted to being ‘very sorry’, it was recently reported in This is Gloucestershire. Twenty-three year old James Bryan was in court this month where he pleaded guilty to deliberately setting fire to Gloucester Quakers’ meeting house.
According to a statement read out by his solicitor, James Bryan is “very, very sorry about what he did.†Judge James Tabor added that James Bryan had attacked “a group of people who are renowned for their forgiving nature.â€
James Bryan will be sentenced in 03/2013. Five years ago he was fined by magistrates after using racially aggravated threatening words to a police officer. On that occasion his defence lawyer told the court that he had changed his lifestyle and moved away from the area. Sadly for Gloucester Quakers, it seems that things hadn’t gone smoothly since then.
Gloucester meeting house is still closed and Quaker worship takes place on Sundays at Park Street Mission, 17 Park Lane, Gloucester GL1 2DA at 2:15pm.
Photo courtesy of Britain Quaker Meeting Houses.