Jail for suicidal woman who set fire to house

Arson attempt put lives of neighbours in danger

A WIRRAL woman who set fire to a house in a desperate suicide bid has been jailed for 18 months.

Sentencing 37-year-old Barbara Lawrence, Judge David Lynch said he had sympathy for her, but it was a serious offence which had endangered the lives of neighbours.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that a neighbour, Michael Brannigan, had courageously saved her life. Judge Lynch awarded him £300.

After being alerted to the blaze, Mr Brannigan spotted Mrs Lawrence lying on the lounge floor on a mattress with a blanket over her.

He climbed into the smoke-filled room, picked her up and took her outside. "He is to be commended by the court for his extremely brave action," said Judge Lynch.

Lawrence, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to arson, being reckless whether lives were endangered.

Mr Tom Eaton, prosecuting, said that Lawrence moved into a rented house in Fountain Street, Birkenhead, in October, 1998.

On June 10, there was an accidental blaze which caused about £15,000 worth of damage and she moved into a friend's home further along the street.

On July 2, she and the friend argued because Mrs Lawrence was drunk and she moved back to her boarded up former home.

At 6pm the next day, the house was discovered to be on fire and the fire brigade was called. Inside the house, Lawrence had scrawled in lipstick on a wall: "I am so depressed. I'm sorry, but I wish I was dead."

While being taken to hospital, Lawrence, who was clearly drunk, tried to run off and bit a policeman, said Mr Eaton.

The cost of the fire damaged was about £5,000, he added.

Mr Stuart Driver, defending, said that Lawrence had been making a serious suicide attempt and had placed a fridge freezer behind the front door.

He said it was a sad case as Lawrence, with a brief failed marriage behind her, had been a civil servant until she was 30.

Lawrence, who was suffering from a depressive illness, was "absolutely at rock bottom" at the time of the fire, said Mr Driver.

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