A drifter who started a blaze that ripped through an Australian backpackers’ hostel, killing 15 young holidaymakers, including a Limerick woman, was today sentenced to life imprisonment.

A jury in Australia has entered a second day of deliberations in the trial of a homeless fruit-picker accused of starting a fire that killed 15 young backpackers, including Limerick woman Julie O'Keeffe and seven British people.

A jury today began considering its verdict in the trial of a drifter charged with starting an Australian hostel fire that killed 15 young backpackers, including seven Britons and an Irish woman.

A backpacker who waited six months before telling police he saw accused hostel arsonist Robert Long standing over a burning bin on the night of the fire yesterday denied he was telling ‘‘a pack of lies’’.

A fruit picker who allegedly started a fire at a Australian hostel that killed 15 travellers, including an Irish girl, had ‘‘expressed antagonism to backpackers in general’’ before the blaze, a prosecutor said today.

A homeless fruit picker today pleaded not guilty to murder and arson charges linked to a devastating blaze that ripped through an Australian backpackers’ hostel, killing 15 tourists nearly two years ago.