A WIRRAL man who set fire to his rented home in a "grudge" attack has been given an eight year sentence.

Jamie Weir was sentenced to four years behind bars with an extended licence of four years.

Judge Robert Trevor-Jones told Weir that he regarded him as a danger to the public and pointed out that the fire in the mid-terraced house could have spread to other properties.

He said: "Those were occupied, there were families living in them.

"There was a very real risk to the neighbours and of course to the fire officers that were obliged to respond to the emergency call."

The judge said that after receiving notice to quit the property in Corporation Road, Birkenhead, where Weir and his girlfriend moved in December 2015, Weir began vandalising the property.

"You were heard by your neighbours doing that and laughing at the same time.

"I'm quite clear your actions were at least in some part directed as some grudge," said Judge Trevor-Jones.

Liverpool Crown Court heard residents became aware of noises at the property about 7.30pm on February 4 last year.

Just hours after he received the notice to quit by their housing association, and high on a cocktail of cannabis and cocaine, Weir lit a blaze in the living room and neighbours heard them shouting and laughing.

Rebecca Smith, prosecuting, said that Weir banged on the window of a neighbour’s home asking for assistance.

She added: "The defendant showed her both arms, which were covered in blood, and shouted 'the house is on fire'".

He and his partner were then seen walking away before someone called for them to stop.

At that point the police arrived and black smoke could be seen coming from the home.

Fire crews attended the property and an investigation revealed it had been started by sofa cushions being set alight, causing significant damage to the living room and kitchen, causing damage estimated at just over £15,000.

Jeremy Hawthorn, defending, said Weir, of Home Farm Road, had pleaded guilty to arson being reckless whether life was endangered at the first opportunity.

A doctor had assessed him as emotionally unstable and found he had a "tendency to act recklessly".