TWO vengeful women who brutally bullied a disabled man and set fire to his flat with him inside were yesterday jailed for five years.

The victim thought he was going to be killed as Victoria Moore and Nina Powlay rampaged around his sheltered housing complex home.

The revenge attack was instigated by Powlay, 22, who had a grude against the man.

Teesside Crown Court heard how she visited the flat in Saltburn with Moore.

The man was battered over the head with a Lambrini wine bottle and punched and kicked while Moore, also 22, shouted: "Go on, kill him."

The pair threatened to wrap him up in sticking tape before starting two fires in the bedroom and one in the bathroom and fleeing from the flat.

Six other residents of the complex had to be evacuated and firefighters spent 15 minutes tackling the blazes in the early hours of March 7.

When the attackers were arrested, Powlay had fresh cuts to her knuckles and soot in her hair, and asked police: "Has he died, or what?"

They admitted charges of arson with intent to endanger life, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and harassment at an earlier hearing.

Recorder Rodney Jameson, QC, deemed the pair a significant risk of causing future harm and imposed three years of extended licence after their release.

Robert Mochrie, for Moore, of Brotton Road, Carlin Howe, east Cleveland, said she had a secondary role in the assault instigated by her girlfriend.

"This was a one-off incident led by Miss Powlay, who had an axe to grind with the complainant," he said, "but she was a willing participant.

"The pair of them are in a relationship and Miss Moore was rather misguided, showing her support for Miss Powlay in this incident."

Kate Dodds, for Powlay, of Thomas Street, Middlesbrough, said she hopes to rebuild her life when she is released from prison.

Mr Recorder Jameson told them: "Fortunately, the fire did not take hold with sufficient vigour to engulf the building.

"Had that happened, Lord knows what the consequences would have been. There were six other occupants who were vulnerable people, also."