by Keith Hunt

A drunken firebug put lives in danger by starting a blaze causing £10,000 worth of damage in flats where he lived, a court heard.

David Breeze set fire to his bed and a sofa in the living room before deadlocking the door and fleeing from two-storey Winchester Place in Bluett Street, Maidstone.

The 43-year-old was jailed for two years after admitting arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Denzil Pugh, prosecuting, said a neighbour became aware of a “chemical” smell and saw smoke coming from Breeze’s flat in the afternoon of March 22 this year.

The neighbour saw that the plaster on the wall of his flat was breaking away in the heat. He made sure another tenant, a young woman, left her flat.

“There was something of a conflagration,” Mr Pugh told Maidstone Crown Court. “The fire services arrived and broke in.

"This was not just a smouldering fire, it was flaming, certainly so far as the bedroom was concerned. The flat was filled with smoke. The flames were doused. Unsurprisingly, the damage was considerable.”

Breeze returned while firemen and police officers were there. He was described as being expressionless and smelled strongly of alcohol.

The flat had to be “comprehensively redecorated” at a cost of £10,000 to owners Golding Homes.

The prosecutor said Breeze had been arrested on a previous occasion for smashing up his flat with a hammer.

Rebecca Helliwell, defending, said Breeze had no memory of committing the offence.

“He is very grateful nobody was injured, because it was very serious,” she continued. “He accepts it could have been far more serious.”

Miss Helliwell added Breeze had been consuming large amounts of alcohol daily.

Judge Michael Carroll said somebody abusing alcohol and other substances over a long period ran the risk of being involved in serious offending.

“You were under the influence of alcohol at the time,” he told Breeze. “I have to say that it is an extremely common factor in cases of arson where a defendant is not suffering from mental illness,” he added.

Six months spent on remand will count towards the sentence.