A 61-YEAR-OLD Leyland man who set light to petrol outside the doors of a Luton night club with more than 250 revellers inside has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Kenneth Bradley, from Westmoreland Close, Leyland, 'flipped' because he thought a doorman had laughed at him when he dropped a pizza as he walked past, a court was told.

He threatened to come back and burn the place down, said prosecutor Simon Allen. He then went to a garage, bought some petrol and returned to the Chicago Rock Cafe.

"He opened the container and began throwing petrol towards the doorman and the wooden doors," said Mr Allen.

"In fact, most of the petrol landed on the pavement and he lit it and ran off. There were between 250 and 300 people inside the club at the time," added Mr Allen.

The fire was put out with extinguishers and little damage was caused, Luton Crown Court was told.

Bradley was arrested and he admitted what he had done, but said he had not intended to hurt anyone.

He said he had been drowning his sorrows in Luton, had drunk about 20 shots of vodka, thought the doorman was 'taking the mickey' and over-reacted. Bradley pleaded guilty to attempted arson on June 24 this year, being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.

His barrister, Ian Painter, said one reason that Bradley flipped was because he had been subject to taunts by children near his home.

He lived with and looked after his mentally disabled brother, following their mother's recent death.

Also that weekend he had been due to be taking his granddaughter on holiday but the trip had been called off and he was very disappointed.

He came to Luton where he had friends, having worked in the area ironically building the Crown Court he was appearing at.

"As serious as this offence is it really was a one-off and he is assessed as being of low risk to the public," said Mr Painter.

"He is genuinely contrite, embarrassed and shocked at what he had done."

Jailing him on Thursday, Judge Daniel Serota QC said: "You had had far too much to drink and what you did was dangerous in the extreme.

"You placed the lives of many people at risk and only good fortune and prompt action prevented injury."