00:01A North Shields man who bypassed an electricity meter has received a suspended prison sentence
00:06following a house fire that killed an 18-year-old woman. Calvin Smith, 38, admitted abstracting
00:12electricity and was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, alongside
00:17200 hours of unpaid work. Prosecutors initially linked his method to the fire in January 2023,
00:24but charges connected to Leah Kasson's death were dropped after expert reports could not establish
00:30that the meter caused it. The court heard the method was inherently dangerous, potentially
00:36causing components to overheat. The judge said tampering put people and property at risk.
