A MAN who started a fire in the house he shared with his mother has been jailed.

Daniel Allison collected together piles of rubbish before dousing them in accelerant and setting them alight.

Teesside Crown Court heard how neighbours had raised concerns about his behaviour in the days leading up to the arson attack after he was spotted deliberately setting fires at the rear of his house.

Nigel Soppitt, prosecuting, said Allison and his mother had only lived in the house in Thornaby for seven weeks before he set fire to the garage.

He said: "On September 3, the defendant was in a funny mood and he left to go outside for a cigarette at around 9.15pm.

"On his return his mother could smell burning and he said it could by a barbecue or something like that – this agitated the defendant.

"As she went to get past her, he attempted to stop her but when she got to the garage she could see that it was alight. She quickly get something to try and put it out while neighbours were banging on the rear of the gate."

When the fire brigade arrived the fire was well alight but they managed to extinguish it before it spread to neighbouring properties.

Mr Soppitt told the court that Allison was serving a community order at the time of the offence for assaulting his mother after she awoke to find him standing over her with a pillow close to her face.

The court heard that Allison had drank 15 cans of lager on the day of the fire.

The 34-year-old, of Scarborough Street, Thornaby, pleaded guilty to a charge of arson being reckless whether life was endangered following the incident on September 3 last year.

In mitigation, Paul Green, said his client had pleaded guilty to setting the fire but he had no memory of actually doing it.

He said: "David Allison accepts he has an issue with alcohol and that triggers problems with his mental health."

Recorder Darren Preston told the defendant that he was very lucky to not be facing a more serious charge as the fire could have easily proved fatal.

"It could have taken hold very quickly, whether you intended it to or nor," he said. "There were neighbours living in the vicinity of the house and they could have been seriously injured or killed.

"This is a sad case, a serious offence which has led to you being remanded in custody for the longest period of time in your life so far."

The judge sentenced Allison to three years in prison.