Woman, 34, deliberately set fire to rental house in terrace
A MOTHER caused £40,000 damage after deliberately setting fire to the kitchen of her rented home by lighting a petrolsoaked bag of rubbish.
Sophie O’Shea admitted she did not like the property and was planning to “trash” it in the hope that she would get on to the waiting list for social housing.
Cardiff Crown Court heard she told the police: “I’ve had enough. I set fire to the house. Arrest me.”
Bethan Evans, prosecuting, said the defendant had been renting the property in Mildred Street in Beddau, Pontypridd, from Christine Robinson for about 18 months and was friends with her daughter.
The court heard it was a three-bedroom house in the middle of the terrace.
Neighbour Natalie Rees heard an alarm going off at around 8.30pm on June 12.
Ms Evans said: “She heard the sound of a fire alarm and a crackling noise.
“She went into the back garden and could see large orange flames and thick black smoke.”
Another neighbour saw smoke coming out of the window and described hearing “popping” noises.
They saw O’Shea sitting on the pavement and prosecutors pointed out she did nothing to warn people about the blaze.
A local resident called 999 just after 8.30pm and two fire-engines attended, along with the police.
A police officer found a jerry can on the garden wall, which smelled strongly of petrol. He arrested the defendant, who also smelled of petrol. She was holding two lighters.
O’Shea said: “I set fire to the recycling bag in the kitchen. I doused it in petrol.”
She was interviewed on June 30 and stated that she set fire to the property because she refused to live there any longer.
The defendant told police she could see no way out and thought she might get on the housing list if her accommodation was “trashed”. She accepted she knew her neighbours were in, but thought they would raise the alarm and the fire service would put the blaze out.
In a victim personal statement read out in court, Ms Robinson said she had trusted the defendant.
The court heard the property was her main source of income, as she was a carer for her mother and did not work.
Prosecutors said the fire caused £40,000 damage to that house and also smoke damage to the neighbouring property.
O’Shea, 34, who appeared via video link from HM Eastwood Park Prison, admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
Lucy Crowther, defending, said she did not have any previous convictions or cautions and has found prison an “unsettling experience”.
The court heard she has been prescribed medication for depression.
Ms Crowther said: “There plainly are issues here as to the state of her mental health.”
She said her client was having family difficulties, and described the case as “rather sad”.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: “You deliberately set fire to the property.”
He noted she was “very distressed” at the time, but reminded her it was an “extremely serious” offence.
O’Shea was jailed for three years and four months.