A WOMAN set fire to her own home in apparent protest at the Government’s so-called ‘bedroom tax’.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Margaret Rae feared she would be forced to leave her home of 57 years because she could not afford to meet a payment of £30 a week.

The 62-year-old, who lives alone in the three bedroomed terraced house, in Delarden Road, Middlesbrough, said the levy was playing on her mind.

In drink and feeling depressed, she deliberately began a fire by putting a tea cloth over a candle.

Prosecutor Jenny Haigh said a neighbour alerted the fire brigade to the blaze in Rae’s living room.

She said: “Luckily the fire was extinguished before it could take hold and cause further damage.”

Rae fled the scene in panic, but was later arrested by police. The defendant said she could not afford to pay the £30 being sought and was worried about being forced to move elsewhere.

Rob Mochrie, mitigating, began his speech by referring to the Government’s “relentless austerity measures”, but was quickly cut short by Judge John Walford who said it was not a political platform.

Mr Mochrie said: “I was trying to highlight the financial stress [she was under] as a result of the bedroom tax.”

The barrister said Rae, who admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered on April 5 this year, was emotionally fragile and genuinely scared at the prospect of prison.

Judge Walford said it had been a “dreadful” offence and said the potential for the fire to spread had been considerable.

He described it as "an act of madness when you were at your lowest ebb.”

Rae was given an 18 month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and will undergo treatment for an alcohol addiction for six months.