A woman who put families in danger by starting fires at two blocks of flats has been jailed for five years.
Donna Morrell, 43, of Glenogil Drive in Arbroath, was found guilty after trial by a jury of three charges of wilful fireraising in the town.
Solicitor Grant Bruce asked Sheriff Alastair Brown to consider a hospital order owing to her mental health problems, however, the sheriff pointed to a psychiatrist’s report showing that although she has a personality disorder, she was not suffering from a mental illness, and was therefore fit to be sentenced appropriately.
The sheriff told Morrell: “I accept and recognise that you are a lady who does not have her problems to seek and you have been diagnosed with a personality disorder and I recognise that your thought processes, at least on these occasions, were not just as clear as they might have been.
“A psychiatrist has examined you and you are not mentally ill and therefore you are criminally responsible for your actions.
“You put a number of other people at risk and then, some months later, you put other people at potential risk including families with young children.
“The version (of the events) you gave to the social workers was not what was given at the trial and was ridiculous given the evidence.
“The only explanation you gave is that you wanted transferred to a new flat. I can’t discharge my duty to the public without giving you a substantial custodial sentence.
“You pose a significant risk to other people who live in a block of flats beside you and that’s a risk I can’t take.”
After the two-day trial at Dundee Sheriff Court, the jury found Morrell guilty of setting fire to the front door and doormat of a house in Newbigging Drive, Arbroath, on February 2 last year, causing extensive fire and smoke damage and endangering the safety of the occupants at the block of flats.
She was also found guilty of setting fire to a bin and a door at the common close at Glenogil Drive, Arbroath, on September 22 last year, which completely destroyed the bin, and on September 23 last year, at the common close at the same address, wilfully setting fire to a plastic bottle, causing it to melt, leaving burn marks on the floor of the close.
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