A drunk man lit a “campfire” in his living room after reaching “the end of his tether” with neighbours in Arbroath.
Wayne Robb torched the carpet of his ground floor flat after reaching his wits’ end.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which was flagged by Robb’s support worker.
They found him surrounded by beer cans.
Robb, who has now moved out of the Arbirlot Road West block after 13 years living there, will be sentenced in the summer.
Dangerous blaze
Fiscal depute Kate Scarborough said Robb was sole occupant of a ground-floor flat in a block of ten.
Fire services were alerted at around 4.55pm on November 1 2023 and were permitted entry by the accused.
Ms Scarborough said: “A small campfire-sized fire was found on the carpet of the living room.
“It was quickly extinguished.
“When speaking with the accused, he admitted that he had intended to set fire to his home address and not leave the building.
“Police were then requested to attend.”
“The crew commander of the fire service advised had the fire service not intervened, the fire would have extended.
“There would have been significant damage to the entire block.”
Robb was found to be “extremely intoxicated” and a “large number of beer cans” were lying around the floor.
A metre-squared patch of carpet was “significantly” burned and the whole block smelled strongly of smoke.
Third offence relating to neighbours
Robb, 47, previously appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court and admitted culpable and reckless conduct and returned to the dock for sentencing.
His solicitor Billy Rennie said the offence was a cry for help.
“He phoned a support worker to indicate he’d set fire to his carpet,” he said.
“They contacted the authorities.
“Whilst there clearly was a risk of significant damage to person and property, he’d taken steps to minimise that risk.
“He was at the end of his tether. He was suffering from his neighbours.
“He’s since moved house and is supported by his father (at another Arbroath address).”
Robb was made subject to a low tariff structured deferred sentence by Sheriff Eric Brown and is due back in court on July 17.
The sheriff continued Robb’s ongoing deferred sentences for two other matters relating to his neighbours.
One saw him target two neighbours at the block two days before the fire when he shouted, swore, acted aggressively, made abusive remarks and violent threats and slammed a door.
Last year, Robb was also fined £160 after shouting a death threat at noisy neighbours.
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