AN arsonist was spotted watching his own flat burn down after he started three separate blazes inside, a court heard.

CCTV covering the home in Malvern Court showed John Evans looking through his front window at the flames before he alerted a neighbour and a 999 call was made, Burnley Crown Court was told.

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Evans has been ruled not fit to plead by the courts and is currently detained in a secure psychiatric hospital for treatment.

Jurors were sworn in to decide whether Evans had carried out the offence of arson or not, during a short trial hearing.

Karen Brooks, prosecuting, said that the fire had been started some time before 6am on December 4 at Malvern Court, sheltered accommodation with adjoining living quarters.

The emergency services were alerted and a police officer reviewed CCTV footage of the property, which showed Evans watching the fire develop through his front window.

Watch manager Nigel Greenwood, who investigated the incident, found three seats of fire within the flat, the court heard.

One was only in a bin and barely smouldering by the time firefighters arrived on the scene.

But the others were located at the bottom of Evans’ bed and in the lounge, both of which appeared to have been started with a naked flame.

Miss Brooks said that when Evans was interviewed by police about the matter, he denied setting the fires and explained that he had gone to bed leaving tea lights ablaze, and had also been smoking under the bed covers, which may have been responsible for the fires starting.

The bedroom was left badly damaged as a result.

But while receiving treatment in a psychiatric unit he had admitted to a doctor that he had started the fires, she added.

“There was no evidence of smoke or fire-related damage to his clothing,” said Miss Brooks, who also confirmed that Evans was the only one in or around the flat at the time of the blaze.

The jury decided that Evans had carried out the arson.

Judge Simon Newell imposed a hospital order on the defendant.