Firefighter who beat and stalked woman was 'proud' of his pandemic work

James Webber now faces a disciplinary process with the fire service after admitting his crimes

Fire chiefs who said they were "appalled" by the crimes of one of its firefighters who was convicted of beating and stalking a woman, had previously highlighted his work volunteering during the Covid pandemic.

Last week PlymouthLive reported on how 32-year-old James Webber, of Marythorne Road, Bere Alston was ordered by magistrates to carry out unpaid work after he pleaded guilty to two charges. He admitted that he had "pursued a course of conduct which amounted to the stalking" of the woman which he "knew or ought to have known amounted to the harassment of her".

This included following the woman while she was driving in her vehicle and turning up unannounced at her home address and sending text messages. He also carried out an assault on the woman at an address in Bere Alston.

At the time of the offences, around September and October of last year, the 32-year-old was a firefighter at Greenbank fire station and an on-call crew manager at Bere Alston fire station.

In response to Webber's sentence a spokesperson for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said: "We hold all of our people to a high standard of behaviour through our Service values.

As soon as we were informed of James Webber's arrest, we immediately suspended him from duty as a wholetime firefighter at Greenbank Fire Station and on-call crew manager at Bere Alston Fire Station, pending the result of the criminal investigation.

"We are appalled to hear of the crimes that James has now been found guilty of and our thoughts are with those affected by his actions. Now that his trial has come to an end, we are able to progress with our own internal disciplinary process, which we expect to be completed within weeks."

In July 2021, at the height of the Covid pandemic, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service posted out messages on its social media channels and on its own website highlighting the work Webber was carrying out supporting the "community testing service". The post showed pictures of him wearing PPE and standing beside a Devon County Council van branded "Covid-19 Community Testing Service".

On the service website Webber penned an article about his volunteer work, stating that while he was based at Bere Alston, where he had been working since 2012, the "volunteered to work as a mobile site supervisor for the Covid-19 community testing unit as part of our partnership work with Devon County Council"

He added that the "driving forces" which made him want to volunteer "were my desires to help the local community, and simultaneously develop new, transferrable skills. I was drawn to being a part of a multi-agency partnership that could work as one to help combat and prevent the spread of the virus."

He noted how the partnership work with other agencies, such as the council, in offering advice and information about the pandemic, "meant that we can promote fire safety and home safety visits, whilst being face to face with the community and interacting with those we may not usually be able to reach. Working together and building relationships with numerous organisations can only be positive in my eyes."

He said there were "so many great moments of accomplishment", adding that "being there to provide people with the latest, correct information is a good feeling."

He boasted: "One situation I'm very proud of is when the partner of someone with dementia came to me for help because she recognised my firefighter uniform. She told me about an incident at her home, where her husband had set fire to an area of her living room.

"In a sympathetic way, I asked her to tell me more about the incident and fire safety in her home. From this, I was able to then share with her the great work our Home Safety team carry out. I then provided her with all of the information she needed to be able to book a home safety visit."

Following Webber's conviction on October 2, which saw him ordered to pay £400 court costs, complete a rehabilitation activity program for up to 25 days and carry out 160 hours unpaid work, he was also handed a restraining order not to contact the woman and a named male, nor attend a Tavistock street and a named business in the centre of Tavistock. He was told the restraining order would remain in force until October 1, 2029

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National Domestic Abuse Helpline

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Telephone: 0808 801 0327

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Galop - for members of the LGBT+ community

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Women’s Aid

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Women’s Aid have guidance documents on domestic abuse and coronavirus for victims, family and friends, and community members of those affected.

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