TAXI driver Derrick Thorner is still haunted by the memory of Colin Douglas pointing a gun at his face, but told of his “big relief” at the verdict.

Mr Thorner told how a not-guilty verdict would have left him forever wondering who had been waiting for him in the darkness outside his garage on Portland.

“This is a big relief, believe me, a big relief,” he repeated.

“It means I can move on now. I can breathe a sigh of relief.”

Mr Thorner was among the witnesses praised by Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Stanger for his bravery in giving evidence at Dorchester Crown Court.

The dad of three has been too scared to park his car in his garage in the dark since the February night when Douglas appeared in a balaclava with a handgun and left him tied up and locked inside.

“You sit by yourself in the car some nights and it hits you again,” he said.

Mr Thorner said the memories of February 25 kept “popping up”.

He said: “I got out of the car and stepped out of the garage and then as I turned around there he was.

“For a minute I thought it was a joke until I realised he was totally serious.

“I just did not know what was going to happen and it was the fear of not knowing.

“I didn’t know if he was going to walk away or pull the trigger.”

“He was stood at about arms length away from me pointing a gun at my face.”

Waste paper unit burgled then torched by arsonist

Colin Paul Douglas was found guilty of burglary and arson following his trial at Dorchester Crown Court in September.

The court heard how the 26-year-old, who did not attend the trial and chose not to give evidence, burgled Dorchester Waste Paper on the Casterbridge Industrial Estate in the county town before setting fire to it on February 20.

The Dorset Echo was unable to print his guilty verdict at the time because of a court order imposed by the judge designed to avoid any prejudice to the trial that was due to follow. Prosecutor David Richards told the court how Douglas – who kept copies of the Echo’s press coverage of his crimes as ‘souvenirs’ – stole a chainsaw, various tools, two hammers, various keys, a lighter plus £17 cash before deliberately setting fire to the unit which Mr Richards described as ‘completely gutted’.

During the trial, jurors heard evidence that a glove and a lighter with DNA which matched Douglas’s were found nearby.

The hammers and keys were also found close to the unit, with Mr Richards claiming all of the items came from within the building or a vehicle parked outside the building belonging to Simon Roberts – the son of Philip Roberts who is the proprietor of the family-run business.

The court also heard how a homemade baton was found nearby, also with Douglas’s DNA on it.

Mr Richards told the court how a mobile phone later discovered in a blue Saab car used by Douglas was traced to the area of the industrial estate around the time of the fire.

He added that, ‘in an attempt to cover his tracks’, Douglas and his sister contacted the police and claimed they had been attacked in Weymouth at that time.

Mr Richards said: “We believe that was a false statement in order to provide an alibi.”

He said that in the Saab, which was discovered abandoned on Portland, were two copies of the Echo dated February 22 when the arson made front page news.

Mr Richards said: “I say this was a souvenir that Douglas had got his hands on.”

He told the jury how at the time of the fire Douglas was subject to an electronically monitored curfew where he was required to stay indoors at Parr Way in Weymouth between 6.45pm and 6.45am from February 11, 2010 to June 25, 2011 but on the night of the fire he was not home until 7.23pm.

In his summing up speech, he asked the jury: “Where was he?”

He added: “We are left with a very clear picture of where he was and what he was doing.

“I ask you to reach the true verdict that the evidence points to.”

Defending Douglas, Tim Shorter said his client maintains that he was not responsible for the burglary or the arson.

Mr Shorter, in his summing up speech, said: “He doesn’t say he wasn’t there, he says he didn’t do it. He does say he was there and he was seeing someone or some people.

“He said that ‘maybe they ran off and did something silly after they had been with me’.”

Judge Roger Jarvis told the jury: “Mr Douglas hasn’t been present and you mustn’t speculate about the reason for his absence.”

It took jurors a total of two hours and 36 minutes to reach their verdict for both charges.

Witness: He's not safe on the streets

KAREN Pearce was in her car in traffic when she saw what was later revealed to be Colin Douglas making his getaway after the Post Office robbery.

Mrs Pearce, who owns Alf’s Fish and Chips with her husband John, was there when Douglas crashed his car at the Fiveways junction and hijacked a Black Saab to escape.

She said: “I was in my car down Lanehouse Rocks Road.

“He drove along the pavement in the car.

“At first I thought it was a boy racer who was annoyed with the traffic lights.”

Mrs Pearce added: “It’s a good job he’s been found guilty because he’s not safe on the streets.

“It makes the place safer with people like him away.”