by Julia Roberts

A father fire-bombed his ex-girlfriend's family home just hours before he was due at a county court hearing, a jury heard.

Joshua Caird is alleged to have thrown the homemade Molotov cocktail while Amy Garrard and their 20-month-old daughter were inside her mother's house in Laburnum Avenue, Dartford.

Miss Garrard told Maidstone Crown Court she froze in shock as she watched Caird running towards the property and then slow down as he threw the milk bottle.

Their daughter was asleep on a sofa in the living room when the petrol bomb struck the window. Miss Garrard said she grabbed her and took her upstairs before calling the police.

The bottle exploded and flames went up the outside of the house.

But prosecutor Deborah Charles said damage was fortunately limited as the ignited pieces of fabric poked in the end of the bottle fell out before it struck the window.

"That, no doubt, was why, down to pure luck, no one was hurt and the fire wasn't worse," explained Miss Charles.

Caird, 23, of Almond Road, Dartford, denies arson with intent to endanger life on September 12 last year.

He also denies an alternative charge of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

The court heard Caird and Miss Garrard had had a stormy relationship during which her parents even threw her out of their home.

The couple's daughter was born in January 2008 but they split later that year while Caird was behind bars.

He had no contact with his daughter but was due at a county court hearing the day after the alleged firebomb incident.

Miss Garrard was staying at her mother's home with her daughter in readiness for the hearing.

The prosecutor told the jury the petrol-bombing was "deliberate".

"He went equipped with the items he needed and he intended to endanger the life of Amy Garrard and perhaps others in the house," she said. "It is pure luck he did not."

The trial continues.