A man has been jailed following an incident in Carlisle earlier this year.
Joseph Sessford, 40, of no fixed abode was sentenced to six years in prison at Carlisle Crown Court after he pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to burglary and arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.
The court heard how on July 2, Sessford broke into an address on Mayfield Avenue and stolen items from within, including wine, a joint of beef, tools and trainers.
Sessford put the stolen items into a suitcase before he set fire to the curtains in the living room, the bed and a suitcase and left the address.
He was arrested on July 22 in Whitehaven.
Detective Constable Jakub Wysocki, of Cumberland CID, said: “Sessford’s actions had a serious impact on his victim and it is fortunate there were not more serious consequences.
“Given that the victim’s bungalow was attached to another property, there was a very realistic prospect that, if not for quick response from the fire service, the fire would have spread to adjacent property and could have endangered residents’ life.
“I hope the sentencing today shows how seriously police and the courts take these types of offences.”
