Ashington arsonist who set fire to his terraced house then went out has been jailed

An arsonist who set fire to his terraced house then went out has been jailed.

Ryan Rushford was living on Chestnut Street, in Ashington, in July last year and his neighbour had already suffered anti-social behaviour, with him playing loud music at times and becoming verbally abusive when asked to turn it down.

Two weeks before the fire, the 32-year-old made comments to her, including "I can smell electric burning, is it your house" then "I think it's mine" followed by "I think I have a bomb under my bed".

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Then, on July 13, he deliberately set fire to his house, Newcastle Crown Court heard. The woman who'd had issues with Rushford previously said another neighbour knocked on her door around 12pm to say there was thick black smoke coming from his living room window.

Omar Ahmad, prosecuting, said: "The defendant had been seen earlier smashing glass bottles, saying he was going to set fire to his house." Having carried out the threat, he left the house and rang 999 to report what he had done.

Mr Ahmad said: "He said if he didn't go to jail for this he would go back and set fire again and this time it would go off properly." When he was arrested, he said: "It's getting set back on fire when I get back."

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A fire investigation showed the blaze was started at the bottom of the stairs behind the front door, with a naked flame applied to combustible material. The fire spread to the front door and carpets and there was smoke damage in the property.

The court heard Rushford had leased it from Home Group, who said it immaculate when he moved in. The company said there had been significant complaints about his behaviour and they sought possession of the premises but he refused. Mr Ahmad said: "That appears to have been some sort of trigger for the offence."

Rushford, who has 80 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered and was jailed for 42 months.

Rachel Hedworth, defending, said Rushford has a "plethora of mental health issues". She added that he suffering with delusions the housing company were trying to poison him with asbestos at the time.