A blaze being lit in a cafeteria doorway was shown on video to a jury, at the opening day of trial for a 47-year-old man accused of attempted arson.And a security guard for Buzz Restaurants, who tackled the early morning fire, told the court he was subsequently able to recognise items of clothing on the figure who had been caught on CCTV setting the doorway aflame.Paget resident Carlos Astwood is alleged to have attempted to set fire to the Belvedere Building at 69, Pitts Bay Road, in the early hours of October 28, 2011.Appearing in the dock before Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons, Mr Astwood, a self-employed painter, entered a plea of not guilty.The court heard yesterday that the Belvedere Building’s facade had been under construction at the time of the incident. The fire was set against the doorway to a Buzz outlet, and the building’s manager, Harrichard Sukdeo, pointed out for the jury the scorch marks left outside the establishment.Opening the Crown’s case, prosecutor Maria Sofianos told the jury: “We say that what took place took preparation, but we say he went further. This was not an incident of someone dropping a lit cigarette.”She added: “The defendant can be seen carefully placing a bag containing items, adding liquid and then placing plywood in front.”The figure on the videotape then fled the scene, she said. “Moments later, it caught fire.”Ms Sofianos told the jury that the footage was viewed by a police officer “who identified the defendant as the culprit”.She said Mr Astwood had later been spotted near the restaurant, at which point he was arrested and cautioned.The court heard that he was found with a white bottle containing a clear liquid, plus a lighter and matches.The prosecutor added that, while being processed by police, the defendant “made comments about people taking Bermudian jobs”.Mr Sukdeo, the Chief Financial Officer of West Hamilton Holdings, told the court he knew the defendant but had never refused him employment.In a statement heard by the court, Buzz managing director Holger Eiselt said the cafe is “situated within a business complex that houses several active businesses”.Security guard Jay Simmons took the stand, telling the court he had reported for duty in the building at 12am that day, and confirmed that at approximately 5am he had noticed “a runner” outside.“I noticed the runner went from the south to the north side of the street toward the entrance, and kind of crouched as he was running and then ran on,” Mr Simmons said.Moments later, he said, “a glow” started up outside the Buzz entrance, and Mr Simmons ran to find a blaze under sheets of plywood laid against the door. He pulled the fire apart with his baton.Mr Simmons told the jury he continued his security shifts for West Hamilton Holdings, and that at 6.20am on November 1, two police officers attended and introduced themselves.As they were looking about the area, he said, “I saw a figure walking westward on the south side of the road.”Added the witness: “I recognised the clothing from the footage.”Believing it to be the individual from the CCTV, Mr Simmons told the court he alerted police to the walking figure, who “abruptly stopped” and then “fled back towards Hamilton”.The man was subsequently stopped and detained by the officers, he said.The trial continues.