A PSYCHIATRIC nurse who torched her home with her little girl inside has been jailed for two years.

Burnley Crown Court heard how mother-of-two, Paula Ward, 38, had earlier told a work colleague she had been seriously assaulted by her husband and felt like getting back at him by burning the house down.

Ward, who had been depressed and had turned to drink, had downed a litre and a half of vodka before she set two fires at the house she shared with her daughter Millie, then eight, and which was owned by her mother-in-law, last October 17.

The defendant started what turned out to be a serious blaze in the garage of the property in Greenbrook Close, Burnley, and smeared barbecue gel on the inside of the letter box, but had little memory of what she had done.

The hearing was told the garage fire spread to the kitchen and a neighbour raised the alarm when she heard crackling and saw the edges of the garage door lit up and smoke coming from the back of the garage and the house.

Ward was at an upstairs bedroom window with her daughter on the sill, shouting hysterically for the neighbour to catch the girl, but the neighbour shouted it was too far to throw her.

The neighbour also heard a reference to petrol, but could not hear the exact words used by the defendant.

A few minutes later she heard a loud bang, apparently from the garage. Both Ward and Millie were rescued by firefighters, who were very soon on the scene.

The defendant, whose mother described her actions as a ‘cry for help’, admitted arson being reckless as to whether the life of Millie Ward was endangered.

She had no previous convictions.

Judge Jonathan Gibson, who had read pre-sentence and psychiatric reports, told her: “Plainly what you did put your daughter's life at very considerable danger.

You also put your own life in danger and there could have been danger to others in neighbouring houses as well.

“I am satisfied you were under a severe amount of stress at the time and you were taking drink in order to try and cope.”

James Heyworth, for Ward, said the defendant had done a house swap with her mother-in-law.

It was not a home she shared with her husband.