A ROW on Christmas Day ended with the fire brigade being called when a man started a fire in home during a 'fit of pique'.

Paul Yates caused £15,000 worth of damage to his rented home after his partner walked out following a drunken argument during the festive period in 2019.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 36-year-old set alight combustible items on his bed before walking out of the Middlesbrough house and calling the emergency services.

Allan Armbrister, prosecuting, said the defendant and his then partner had spent the day drinking before returning to their home on Ipswich Avenue, Middlesbrough, in the early hours of the morning when the row erupted.

He said Yates was 'affected by alcohol' when he deliberately started the fire in their home after the argument. "The next thing she was aware of was the house alight having being set on fire and the defendant having reported the fire to the authorities and leaving the area," he added.

A fire investigator's report showed the fire had been started deliberately and photographs proved the fire had started on the bed before spreading to the wall in the bedroom.

Mr Armbrister said the landlord was £15,000 out of pocket as a result of the fire.

Yates, of Hartland Grove, Middlesbrough, was found guilty of arson following a trial earlier this year.

Shaun Dryden, mitigating, said his client had taken steps to address concerns about his behaviour when he is drinking heavily.

He added: "There was little or no planning in this case, the offence, put in context of what happened that evening, was committed on impulse.

"It was the defendant's own property, that was set fire to, where he was living. He called the fire brigade to get them to extinguish the fire."

Mr Dryden urged the judge to suspend any sentence of imprisonment as his client was not heavily convicted and there has been no further offences since December 2019. "This particular offence was a one-off, it was caused by particular circumstances on that evening in 2019 and it is unlikely to be repeated," he added.

Recorder Michael Fanning jailed Yates for 21 months for arson. "Putting it bluntly, your Christmas Day in 2019 ended in a calamity," he said. "It is clear that you and your girlfriend fell out, I have referred to the allegations she made which were not found to be proved, but the jury were absolutely sure that you deliberately set the fire on your bed in your bedroom.

"I can only conclude, in the aftermath of your row with your partner, that in a fit of pique, which was soon regretted as you made a prompt call to the fire brigade, you set the fire in the bedroom as the fir officer had suggested.

"By your actions you deprived your former partner of home, and your home, it had been home for a relatively short period but your actions showed the relationship had come to an end."

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