Teenage firestarter told to stay away from mum and gran

2:23pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

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A teenager who set his grandmother's net curtains alight after a row with her and his mum has been ordered to learn about the dangers of fire.

The 13-year-old used a cigarette lighter to start the blaze in the kitchen of his grandmother's home in St Leonards.

But the pensioner threw water over the flames before they spread and no one was harmed.

The boy, now 14, no longer has any contact with his mother or grandmother.

The two women were at Lewes Crown Court to see him sentenced after admitting arson while being reckless as to endangering life.

He was given an 18-month supervision order and must spend time with East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service to learn about the effects of fire and the risks to people and property.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, must also carry out 20 hours of work in the community.

His mother wept in the public gallery as Judge Charles Kemp told the youth his actions had been dangerous and frightening and could have easily led to the deaths of one or both women.

He told the teenager he had no power to ban him from seeing his mother or grandmother. But he added: "So long as this order is in place you should not see them again or have anything to do with them."

The court heard the fire was started on May 21 last year while the teenager stood outside the open kitchen window smoking following an argument.

The judge described his behaviour as "dreadful" but said he was not going to impose a custodial sentence because of the help the teenager is currently receiving from the Youth Offending Team.

The judge said: "What you did was dangerous and it was frightening. It could so easily have ended in complete disaster and the loss of one of those ladies' lives.

The court heard the teenager had a number of previous convictions, including for assaulting his mother.

Irena Ray-Crosby, defending, said the teenager, who now lives with his father, had a sad and troubled childhood. He had been excluded from primary schools and received the care of a clinical psychologist since he was five years old.

She said: "He is determined not to offend again. There is every hope he is going to grow out of all this sort of behaviour. He wants to work hard and make something of himself.

Referring to a probation report, she said the youth had been assessed for his potential danger to the public which concluded his behaviour had been more of an expression of adolescent bravado than an attempt to cause serious harm.

She said: "He is a person who is immature rather than dangerous.

"The catalyst for his offending seems to be the unhappy relationship with his mother and grandmother. At the moment he has no intention of having anything to do with them."