A DRUNK who set fire to his home in a suicide bid is behind bars after a judge told him he could have killed his neighbours.

Robin Kenyon had been drinking and had taken an overdose of tablets before he started the blaze in his flat in Richmond, North Yorkshire.

When emergency crews forced their way into the property they found empty drinks cans and insulin needles in the front room.

Alcoholic Kenyon, 41, had twice before set fire to his property to try to kill himself, a judge at Teesside Crown Court was told.

His lawyer, Jonathan Harley, said he had made six attempts on his life in the lead-up to the night-time arson on November 11 last year.

He told Teesside Crown Court that it was "concerning" that Kenyon dealt with depressive episodes by drinking and starting fires.

Mr Harley told Judge Peter Armstrong: "This was entirely designed for Mr Kenyon to bring harm upon himself and not anybody else.

"It was a small fire. He didn't go around setting many fires with the intention of torching the property. It was impulsive.

"He had had an argument with someone in the pub earlier, and walked away. It was fuelled by a very large amount of alcohol."

Mr Harley told the court on Friday how Kenyon, of Newbiggin, Richmond, drinks "a staggering" ten to 15 pints a day, every day.

He said: "One wonders how he is still standing at all . . . but since this incident he has mad real strides to deal with his problems.

"He referred himself to an organisation to help with his alcohol problems, his housing, and his financial situation.

"He has reduced his drinking to nil. He has been dry for six weeks, which is a long time given the entrenched nature of his addiction.

"He is petrified of the thought of going to prison, and it may well be that that is an emotional setback to his recovery."

Kenyon, who admitted a charge of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, was jailed for three years.

Judge Armstrong told the father-of-two: "This could have been a powerful fire which could have spread from the flat and beyond.

"Had the fire got hold and spread, peoples lives would clearly have been put in danger.

"Aggravating factors are your previous conviction in 2002 for a similar sort of offence, and criminal damage in 2010 where you set fire to some clothing.

"The indicators are you are not dangerous to the extent of being a pyromaniac, but you are dangerous when in drink, and liable to commit this sort of offence."