A son started a fire outside his parents' home when his father refused to allow him to move back in.

Shortly before, Nicholas Squires telephoned a warning: "Your nightmare is about to start."

He then travelled from his home in Brighton to the village of Bolney where his family lives.

While his parents and sister barricaded themselves into their cottage, their 32-year-old son smashed his way inside.

He wrecked furniture, leaded windows, a clock, vase, ornamental lamp and dining table. When the police arrived they struggled to calm him down and were forced to use CS spray.

Squires, of Dawlish Close, Brighton, admitted charges of arson, affray and criminal damage at Lewes Crown Court.

Ghulam Hussain, prosecuting, said Squires had met his father and asked if he could return to the family home in Cherry Lane but his request was refused.

Squires returned to the flat he shared in Bevendean, Brighton, and dragged his mattress outside and set it alight. He bought a can of petrol and took a taxi to Bolney.

His parents saw a fire in the driveway of their home and barricaded themselves in the kitchen for safety. They put a table and a butcher's block in front of the door for added protection but Squires smashed a window and climbed into the house.

The family waited inside until the police arrived and the father let the officers into his home by a rear garage door.

The court heard Squires had been arrested three weeks earlier after he stood near a cashpoint machine brandishing a knife and demanding money from passers-by, including an elderly woman.

Jonathan Edwards, defending, said Squires, who has suffered from mental illness for six years, had failed to take his medication for a few days before he committed the offences at his parents' home in January.

Mr Edwards said: "At no stage did he intend any harm to his family or anybody else. He was crying out for help."

The court heard Squires was detained in prison before being moved to Ashenhill Hospital, a secure unit at Hellingly, near Hailsham. None of his family were in court but his father has visited him in hospital.

Mr Edwards said: "They don't hold any grudges or resentment for what took place."

The court heard psychiatric reports indicated Squires was at risk of committing dangerous acts, such as arson, when he was not well, and could pose a possible serious risk to the public. Treatment would take at least a year.

Judge Charles Kemp made a hospital order under the Mental Health Act to ensure Squires is detained at Ashenhill and continues to receive treatment.