A FORMER chef who claimed his life spiralled out of control after the Cameron House fire was not working there at the time, the hotel has said.

As reported in last week’s Advertiser, Craig Wilson, 23, pleaded guilty alongside Callum Woods to carrying out a violent attack on a man in Balloch on May 30 this year.

Wilson’s defence solicitor told a sentencing hearing at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on October 19: “He left school with qualifications and was a chef, but lost his job because of the fire at Cameron House Hotel.

“This led on to him losing his tenancy and he ended up in the Blue Triangle project for the homeless. He felt a sense of hopelessness and went off the rails and started drinking.

“Had he not lost his job at the time he did he would be employed and unlikely to be standing here in court today.”

Cameron House management have told the Advertiser that Wilson in fact walked out of employment with the hotel, rather than be dismissed, in December 2016 and then worked with Martin Wishart there from June 10 to July 1, 2017.

They said he was not employed at Cameron House at the time of the fire on December 18, 2017.

Wilson was jailed for 26 months, while his co-accused Woods received a 32-month prison sentence.