A DARWEN man who tried to set fire to his neighbour’s home while she was in it following a dispute has been sent to jail.

Preston Crown Court heard that Sean Cooney carried out the arson attack on June 25 after constantly falling out with his neighbour.

The prosecution said the 47-year-old set fire to a brown paper bag containing an aerosol of lighter fuel before he left it at the front door of his neighbour Julie Goring’s home.

Mrs Goring was in her home when the attack took place and Mr Cooney was aware of this, the court was told.

Luckily, Mrs Goring was immediately alerted to the fire and managed to get out of the property unscathed, the prosecutor said.

The court heard the fire brigade were then called and the blaze was put out before it caused damage the house.

Cooney, of Sudell Road, Darwen had originally been charged with arson endangering life, but his guilty plea to the lesser charge of recklessly committing arson was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service ahead of a trial.

Judge Simon Newell sentenced Cooney to 21 months behind bars after giving him full credit for admitting his crime at the earliest opportunity.

He told Cooney he was ‘lucky’ nobody was injured in the fire and that damage to the house was limited to the front door of the property only.