Mum set fire to her house as kids slept upstairs
HERO NEIGHBOUR RUSHED IN TO RESCUE CHILDREN IN 4am DRAMA
A MUM-of-two who had been ‘drinking heavily’ set fire to her house while her two children slept upstairs.
Anna Ferries, 42, tried to torch her family home in Salford while her young daughter and teenage son were inside. Neighbours heard her scream: “Get the baby out I’m going to set fire to the house.”
Flames were then seen inside the property, Manchester Crown Court heard.
While Ferries remained ‘oblivious,’ her next door neighbour ran into the house to try and find her children.
As the fire began to spread, her neighbour managed to grab hold of Ferries’ son and daughter and get them to safety.
Ferries was preoccupied with rescuing her pet turtle and bird from the burning house.
After the initial fire was put out, Ferries then walked back into the house and set fire to a pair of curtains. She was hearing shouting: “I don’t want to live anymore, I want to die.”
Ferries later told police she had intended to kill herself. A fire service investigator said the blaze could have easily spread to the point where lives were at serious risk. Judge Suzanne Goddard QC said Ferries was lucky none of her family died.
Ferries, of Cloughfield Avenue, Salford, was given a suspended sentence after the court heard she has had problems with alcohol and her mental health.
She was sentenced to 16 months, suspended for two years, after admitting arson reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
The court earlier heard that on August 21, 2018, Ferries’ neighbour returned home at around 1am and noticed Ferries was drunk.
Prosecuting, Andrew Mackintosh told the court Ferries approached the woman on a number of occasions, asking her for a drink, which she declined.
“Shortly after 4am, the woman went into the garden for a cigarette,” said Mr Mackintosh.
“She heard her neighbour scream ‘get the baby out I am going to set the house on fire.’ The neighbour saw some flames coming from the living window. The defendant looked completely oblivious.”
Mr Mackintosh said the neighbour ran into the house and began searching.
“The defendant’s son then appeared at the top of the stairs with his little sister in his arms,” he told the court. “The neighbour grabbed the girl and took her out the front of the property.
“She then turned and saw the defendant walk back out the front door carrying a bird cage. She then went back in for a cage with a turtle in it.”
Ferries’ barrister, Michael Johnson said his client’s offending had been ‘underpinned’ by her issues with mental ill-health.
Judge Suzanne Goddard QC told Ferries: “Your son and daughter were in that house. Had that fire took hold they could have died.”
Ferries was also ordered to complete an alcohol treatment programme, and 20 days rehabilitation.