Arsonist put lives at risk by setting flat ablaze and barricading himself inside

ALCOHOLIC TRAUMATISED RESIDENTS AND CAUSED £100K DAMAGE

- By MARTIN NAYLOR

AN arsonist caused £100,000 damage and endangered the lives of his neighbours and police by deliberately setting fire to his flat.

Nottingham Crown Court heard how Mark Kirkham barricaded himself in his bathroom as three police officers tried to get him out.

The 39-year-old "chronic alcoholic" also left vulnerable people living above and beneath him "traumatised" as firefighters helped evacuate them from the blaze near Sneinton Market.

The three-story complex in Aberdeen Street, where the fire was, belonged to a charity which helps those with drug and alcohol issues, such as the defendant, transition back into normal life.

Jailing him for two years and eight months, Judge Tina Dempster said: "You all knew each other but there had been a complaint about your behaviour which had become erratic because of your alcohol consumption.

"You shouted out of the window of your flat but then refused to open the door to the police.