A FORMER school caretaker who planned to burn his neighbours with a crude napalm bomb after his house was egged has issued a plea for clemency from behind bars.

Nicholas Smith, 53, is currently in prison awaiting sentence after a jury convicted him of combing the internet for DIY instructions on how to make an explosive.

He faces up to seven years in prison after officers discovered him in his home mixing soap and lighter fluid following repeated attacks on his terraced home from yobs who terrorised his neighbourhood.

In a statement released through his wife, Dorothy, 63, he said: "I hope the judge gives me a lenient sentence because of everything I’ve been through.

"I went through a living nightmare and I just want to be home with my family."

A jury at Teesside Crown Court heard that Smith had been terrorised by anti-social behaviour at his home in Horden, County Durham, when the torment drove him to drink and left him seeking revenge.

He exploded in rage and plotted to "burn" the unruly neighbours who had "declared war" on his family when yobs hurled an egg at his home.

His wife of 22-years has spoken of her heartache and begged to be reunited with the retired Territorial Army volunteer.

She said: "It’s been horrible. I have a house but it’s not a home without him.

"I miss him terribly and I just want him home. We’ve been married for 22 years but this has been so hard."

Smith was arrested earlier this year on May 8, just four days after posting threats on the social networking site Facebook in which he vowed retribution.

He wrote: "War has been declared by those who live nearby. Eggs thrown at mine tonight 5pm. To hell with the cops. I will burn them tonight."

Smith, who will be sentenced on Friday, searched the internet for instructions on assembling DIY explosives before settling on an infamous webpage.

Smith then mixed grated soap with lighter fluid to concoct a crude thickened fuel mixture that forensic experts claimed would have a potent "fireball effect".