Asda car fire: Men admit endangering lives in Portlethen blaze
Two men have admitted setting fire to a stolen car in an Aberdeenshire supermarket car park while people were still sitting inside.
Greg Hatten, 24, poured petrol into the boot and Robert Beattie, 28, lit the fuel at Asda in Portlethen in March last year.
At the High Court in Aberdeen, they admitted wilful fire-raising and endangering the lives of Marcus Paton and Christopher Matthews.
Sentence was deferred.
They had originally been charged with attempted murder.
A third co-accused - Keith Meldrum - had his not guilty plea accepted.
The men were caught on CCTV after driving the stolen vehicle to Asda.
Advocate depute Bill McVicar said that Paton had stolen the car.
The court heard he was currently serving 18 months in prison for the offence.
The fire-raising case will call again at the High Court in Edinburgh next month.