Arson woman wanted to ‘try’ torching home (From Bury Times)
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Arson woman wanted to ‘try’ torching home
11:19am Thursday 7th March 2013 in News
AN arsonist who told a firefighter she had seen blazes on television where children were killed and thought she could “try it” has been jailed for four years.
Ann Nadin, aged 54, caused damage estimated at £110,000 to the home she owned in Cemetery Road, Ramsbottom, after setting fire to a book and leaving it on an armchair on November 13 last year,.
She removed the door handles on the inside and outside of her utility room door and smashed smoke detectors.
Bolton Crown Court heard a neighbour could hear Nadin shouting “help me” and went to assist but was knocked back by the flames.
When Nadin was rescued, she told a fire service watch commander she “could do that” about a fatal fire she saw on TV. He thought she had intended to harm herself.
Nadin, who admitted arson with intent to endanger life, had previously received a suspended jail term after lighting cigarettes and posting them through her ex-partner’s letter box in 2010.
Months before the blaze she set fire to a book in her home, resulting in smoke damage to her settee. She was punished by restorative justice for the fire, which took place in June last year.
The deliberate fire in November caused widespread dmage to the house, and Nadin herself suffered from serious smoke inhalation.
Officers discovered that the fire could have endangered the lives of neighbours as homes have adjoining lofts.
Nadin believed she was mentally ill but psychological reports showed otherwise.
She was found to have behavioural problems due to alcohol misuse.
After the case, Detective Constable Lindsey Worrall, from Bury CID, said: “This arson may have been an attempt of Nadin’s to take her own life, but her actions were reckless and misguided.
“The neighbour who tried to help put himself in danger and so too did the firefighters who put their lives on the line for people who come to harm.
“Furthermore, there are seven terraced houses on this stretch, meaning that the fire damage endangered other householders.”
