A drunken arsonist, who denied torching a flat, was caught out by his burnt and blistered fingers, a court heard.
James Alty started the blaze when the female occupant went out a couple of hours after they had rowed and she had demanded her key back.
The flat dweller below heard footsteps upstairs when Alty came back and then the fire alarm went off, a court heard.
“She saw the defendant walk past her front window. He was in a drunken stupor and he said to her “Oh there is a fire” and she phoned 999,” said Steven Ball, prosecuting.
“She was aware of orange flames burning the window blinds of the upstairs flat. The seat of the fire was the top drawer of a bedroom chest of drawers with the most likely source of ignition being a naked flame introduced to some of the contents of the drawer.”
Mr Ball told the court that Alty, of Brick Street, Warrington, walked away from the premises in Peel House Lane, Widnes towards Derby Road and he was arrested nearby.
When interviewed Alty, who had burn marks and blisters to his fingers, denied starting the fire.
“He explained that he had seen some underwear on fire at the top of the stairs and he picked it up before dropping it on the carpet. He alerted the neighbour to the fire and then panicked and left.
“The cost of repairing the damage and lost rent was £6,000,” said Mr Ball.
Alty aged 31 pleaded guilty to arson being reckless whether life was endangered on April 28 this year.
The court heard that he had numerous previous convictions and at the time he was half way through a community order for common assault involving striking his then-partner once to the face.
Emma Clarke, defending, said that Alty, “Wishes to apologise to the victim profusely and also to the court for his behaviour which has landed him before the court today.
“At the time he was dealing with significant paranoia due to a lapse in his medication and he was not feeling well at all.”
She said that he had been drinking and taking cocaine which exacerbated the situation. “As soon as he started the fire he panicked, he knew it was wrong and tried to put it out himself.
“He was drinking heavily to cope with his mental health issues because he had lost contact with his son and did not know how to cope with it.”
Miss Clarke said that Alty started using cannabis aged 13 and was addicted to cocaine by the age of 19, spending £100 a week on the drug and having a chaotic life style.
He had been suffering mental health problems after having no contact with his mum from the age of three and has persistent paranoia and delusions, twice being sectioned.
She said that Alty, who appeared via video link and was in tears during the hearing, was a qualified plasterer and if he was jailed he would lose his accommodation.
Sentencing him the judge, Recorder Kate Cornell, said that a psychiatric report showed that Alty had been suffering from drug induced psychosis but “you know what you were doing was wrong.”
She said that she accepted it had not been a premeditated offence and he is now more stable and taking his medication.
The judge sentenced him to two years imprisonment suspended for two years and imposed a 12 month drug rehabilitation requirement, 120 day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement and an 18 month mental health requirement.
“The public needs protection and you need help to address your issues,”“she said.
Alty, who repeatedly interrupted the judge’s sentencing remarks, told her “I promise I’ll stick to all of my requirements. That’s all I want. The minute I lit that flame I tried to put it out which is why I had burns on my fingers.”
Recorder Cornell warned him, “I have given you a significant chance here. Any mistake, you will back in court and serving that sentence.”
