A man disabled his smoke alarms and set fire to his flat after his doctor refused to give him a sick note.
Mark McCaffrey, 39, poured white spirit over a pile of his possession and climbed on to the roof of the building on Cawthorne Avenue, Kirkby , Liverpool Crown Court heard.
He pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered at an earlier hearing and was today locked up for four years.
Frank Dillon, prosecuting, said Sarah Eaton, who lived in the flat below McCaffrey, was awoken by her smoke alarm at 5.30am on April 23 this year.
She alerted Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service after noticing smoke outside her window.
Mark McCaffrey, 39, of Cawthorne Avenue, Kirkby jailed for four years for arson after setting fire to his flat because a doctor wouldn’t give him a sick note.
Mr Dillon said: “Around 25 minutes after Ms Eaton was awoken, police were called to the flat after reports of a male on the roof.
“Police attempted to negotiate with the defendant, who said he was unhappy with a Dr King because he wanted to be signed off from work.
“He told officers Dr King had laughed at him and said he was fine, but claimed he had a personality disorder and had conversations with himself.”
He claimed his benefits had been stopped and “that’s why he did it,” the court heard.
Mark McCaffrey, 39, of Cawthorne Avenue, Kirkby jailed for four years for arson after setting fire to his flat because a doctor wouldn’t give him a sick note.
The court heard five fire engines were required to attend the blaze, which took hold near a gas pipe running through to McCaffrey’s kitchen.
Mr Dillon said plastic bottles of an accelerant, believed to be white spirit, were found in the flat and that the fire had been started on a pile of “combustible material” in the lounge and on a settee.
Smoke alarms had been fitted in the flat but investigators found vital components had been removed, rendering them inactive. These were later found in a kitchen bin.
Mr Dillon said if the downstairs neighbour had not raised the alarm the “fast, free flowing fire” could have spread quickly and “endangered the lives of other occupants” in the block of flats.
McCaffrey was talked down from the roof and detained in Whiston Hospital under the mental health act. He was later deemed to be fit for custody and arrested.
Mark McCaffrey, 39, of Cawthorne Avenue, Kirkby jailed for four years for arson after setting fire to his flat because a doctor wouldn’t give him a sick note.
Augustine Iro, representing McCaffrey, said his client had thrown a set of weighing scales at Dr King’s PC after being denied a sick note, and had been subsequently sent a fine in the post.
He said his client was then sent threatening letters from bailiffs after being unable to pay the fine, and described this as the “catalyst” for the offence.
Mr Iro said: “I would like to suggest that Mr McCaffrey is a man for whom life’s difficulties have overwhelmed him.”
A spokesperson from Merseyside Police said: “It was only through sheer luck and the quick response of our partners in the fire service, that this fire didn’t seriously injure or even kill someone.
“Today’s sentencing shows just how seriously the courts take these types of crime and while it cannot undo the hurt caused to neighbours and the damage caused to their properties – we hope it goes some way to offering them some closure.”
Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/