A LONELY alcoholic who tried to torch his mid-terrace home after a drinking bout told police he had "flipped".

Burnley Crown Court heard how disabled Thomas Sugden, 31, who had suffered a lifetime of verbal abuse, claimed he did it for attention and didn't really think about the consequences.

His next door neighbour, at home at the time, was overcome by fumes. Sugden laid a trail of meths in the property, set it alight, went away for five hours and then returned to see what had happened.

Jailing him for two years and four months, Judge Raymond Bennett said he knew that life had dealt the defendant a cruel blow and he had been teased.

But, trying to start a fire in a terrace property was very serious and anybody who did so had to go to prison. Sugden, formerly of Gordon Street, Nelson, admitted arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered, on March 15.

Sue Riley, prosecuting, said Sugden had become a tenant at the Gordon Street house about three days before. He knocked on the door of neighbour Elsie Wilson, told her he would be away for the weekend and any noises would be an electrician doing some work.

During the evening Mrs Wilson noticed a burning smell which got worse and she had trouble breathing. At 11.30pm, her son-in-law went to investigate and found the defendant with his head in his hands. He asked what had happened and Sugden replied: "You don't want to know."

The son-in-law looked into Sugden's home and saw the hallway full of smoke. Firefighters were alerted but the blaze had burned itself out when they arrived.

Investigations revealed three seats of fire and a pool of accelerant at the back door. Police interviewed Sugden who admitted what he had done.

Richard Taylor, defending, said Sugden claimed he would never again behave in such a manner. He was sorry for what he had done and had been in custody since he was arrested.