Fire ‘could have caused mayhem’

A WOMAN with mental health problems lit a fire in a block of flats in the early hours of the morning while other residents were asleep.

Rhiannon Roper, 27, from Porthcawl, had previously threatened to burn down Bridgend bus station and was subject to a community order at the time of the arson.

Sentencing her at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Eleri Rees said the fire could have caused “mayhem” if it had not been extinguished promptly.

The court heard the incident occurred in a three-storey block of flats in Suffolk Place, Porthcawl, just after midnight on March 10.

Gareth James, prosecuting, said the defendant called 999 and reported having suicidal thoughts.

Police and ambulance attended and Roper agreed to go to the Princess of Wales Hospital but changed her mind and went back to her flat.

The court heard shortly after that she banged on her neighbours’ doors shouting: “You’ve got to get out. The flat is on fire.”

Prosecutors said police returned to the scene and found the defendant standing outside holding a hamster cage.

An officer went inside and could see smoke and flames coming from a blanket on the floor of her lounge.

The court heard he managed to put out the fire with water before the fire service arrived and made the scene safe.

Roper was arrested and told officers during a police interview that she had no memory of the fire.

She stated she was worried for her hamster because of the smoke.

Prosecutors said she had been before the courts for 126 previous offences – mostly “nuisance-type” crimes including drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Mr James said she was made the subject of an antisocial behaviour order, which she breached.

She also had convictions for offences against the person, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, battery, and assaulting a police officer.

The court heard she was subject to a three-month electronically tagged curfew at the time of the offence, imposed for threatening criminal damage.

Mr James said: “She made a threat that she was going to burn down Bridgend bus station.”

He confirmed she had no other previous convictions relating to fire and said there was a medical background to the case.

Doctor Shuja Reagu said Roper had been diagnosed with personality disorder and found she presented a high risk of committing further offences.

He suggested she needed more assessments but concluded her offending was “not completely attributable” to her personality disorder.

Roper, from Suffolk Court in Porthcawl, admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Judge Rees found that the defendant may have been distressed and upset when she started the fire but knew what she was doing. She said it marked “an escalation” in offending.

The judge made an order under Section 45A of the Mental Health Act and sentenced her to two years imprisonment.