Former Victorian train worker and firebug jailed for minimum nine years

A former CFA and Metro trains worker has been sentenced to a minimum of nine years in jail after pleading guilty to a string of arson and sabotage offences at Melbourne’s County Court.

Nicholas Archer, 28, this morning pleaded guilty to 21 charges committed over seven years while he worked as an equipment manager for Metro and a volunteer for the County Fire Authority (CFA).

Archer purposely derailed a train at Hurstbridge, in Melbourne’s northeast, causing an estimated $3 million dollars’ worth of damage in November last year.

He also admitted to lighting fires at 100-year-old rail carriages at a rail museum and a Victorian fire station.

Judge John Smallwood told the court Archer’s crimes were “extremely serious and dangerous,” ABC News reported.

"The crimes were conducted consciously and deliberately," Mr Smallwood told Archer.

"You were aware of the potential consequences of your crimes," he said.

At a hearing in February this year Archer blamed depression for his actions and claimed he has been speaking to a counsellor provided by Metro for about a year.

Archer will serve a maximum of 14 years in prison with a non-parole period of nine years. 

With AAP