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 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’’.

Fire alarms at a backpackers’ hostel in Australia were switched off by one of the managers just weeks before a fire tore through the building, killing 15 young travellers, including Limerick woman Julie O'Keeffe, 24, a court heard.

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.