A DEPRESSED man who started a blaze at his terraced home in Nelson after leaving a ‘suicide note’ has walked free from court.

Andrew Trickett, 41, was suffering severe emotional upset after breaking up with his wife and had been drinking when he set fire to a bed at his rented home on Dalton Street, last July 30, Burnley Crown Court heard.

Trickett, who at first claimed he had spilled turps when painting and then lit a cigarette, sobbed in the dock as a judge spared him jail.

The judge said he could treat it as a one-off incident.

The fire brigade and police attended and the fire was soon put out.

The defendant had earlier admitted arson. He was given 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, with two years supervision and a 12-month alcohol treatment programme.

The hearing had been told how Trickett called the fire service.

When they arrived, they found a mattress, duvet and sheets were on fire.

Police attended and Trickett told an officer he he had spilled some turps. The sergeant found a handwritten note.

A line from it was: “One way to solve a problem.” The officer took it to be a suicide note.

Wayne Jackson, for Trickett, said his actions had been a cry for help.

The defendant had been on a curfew for 11 months.