A TRIAL date has been set for the case of an alleged arsonist accused of starting fires which damaged a school, several houses and a parked car.

Andrew Derbyshire was arrested in the wake of the spate of suspected arson attacks in Stanley, County Durham, last month.

One left a trail of fire and smoke damage in the reception area and two nearby classrooms at Burnside Primary School, South Stanley, on February 10.

It led to an extended half-term break for pupils as repairs were carried out to put the Mendip Terrace premises back into working order.

Four days after the school blaze a number of fires were caused on one evening to bungalows on the Poets Estate after wheelie bins were set alight at the rear of properties.

An 84-year-old resident was treated for smoke inhalation as a result of one of the fires, while a car parked nearby was damaged after paper was placed under a wheel arch and set alight.

Mr Derbyshire, 21, appeared via video link from Durham Prison at a preliminary hearing in the case at the nearby crown court, today (Monday March 9).

He is charged with a total of six counts of arson, or attempted arson, which include one each of intending to endanger life and being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said a plea hearing would be staged in late May, with a provisional trial start date agreed for a hearing of three days or longer, on July 20.

Judge Christopher Prince recently upheld a prosecution appeal against the granting of bail by magistrates at an earlier hearing.

He remanded Mr Derbyshire, of Cheviot Terrace, Stanley, back into custody, pending the plea hearing, on May 22.