A mentally ill man who set fire to a block of flats has been jailed for three years.

Peter Nottage (28) torched a block of flats in Gainsborough because he thought it would help him get rehoused, Lincoln Crown Court heard.

Nottage, who was described as having an “emotionally unstable personality disorder” and low IQ completely gutted the housing association flat in Heapham Road, Gainsborough, causing £25,000 of damage.

The court heard that his was the ground floor flat, and the fire could easily have spread to other flats, putting lives in danger.

Nottage, who had been a resident of the YMCA in St Rumbold Street, Lincoln, until the trial, was unhappy in Gainsborough and thought setting fire to the flat would persuade the housing association to move him.

When interviewed by police he admitted arson which recklessly endangered life.

A psychiatric report described Nottage as a vulnerable person who had started the fire in an emotional outburst.

He was supported in court by YMCA staff and residents, and the court was told that he wants to become a youth pastor with the Christian charity.

Sentencing him to three years in jail, Judge Michael Heath said he noted that Nottage suffered from mental illness and a low IQ, but he was persuaded to give him immediate custody.

Nottage collapsed and wept when he heard his sentence.

For more on the Nottage court case, see Monday's Lincolnshire Echo.