A MAN who set fire to a family’s home as part of a neighbours’ feud has been jailed for five years.

Sean Andrew Patrick Haigh, 38, poured petrol through the door of his Tadcaster neighbours and set it alight late on August 3, said Rob Galley, prosecuting.

The bricklayer then left without calling the fire brigade.

After the man who lived in the adjoining house to the family’s semi-detached house saw the blaze and called firefighters, an older relative of the family went to the scene.

Haigh, whom he didn’t know, was aggressive towards him, and said: “You don’t know what I am capable of. I am going to put a bullet in your head.”

He had also been aggressive towards the police officers called to the scene, the court heard.

Judge Simon Hickey told Haigh: “I find this was motivated by a background grudge, nothing to do with you, but you took it upon yourself (to start the fire).”

He watched CCTV of Haigh, wearing a hood to conceal his identity as he started the fire and said Haigh had walked “casually” away.

Mr Galley said the family and one of Haigh’s relatives were involved in a dispute.

Haigh’s relative had threatened to burn down the other family’s house, so the family had left the house secretly earlier that day.

Haigh, of Westfield Crescent, Tadcaster, was jailed for five years. He pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered and using threatening words and behaviour towards the older relative.

For him, Holly Betke said he had known that the neighbouring family had left the house.

The defence accepted the arson endangered the neighbours in the adjoining house who raised the alarm.

Haigh didn’t know why he acted the way he did that evening, said the barrister.

“It does appear he was in some kind of psychotic episode,” she said. “That would explain at least in some way his decision making at that time.”

Haigh had a history of mental illness and had not been taking the medication his doctors had prescribed because it made him feel ill. He had tried not to involve himself in the feud and was full of remorse.

Mr Galley said the fire had caused £8,298 of damage and smoke from the fire had gone up the stairs. It had left the house uninhabitable.

The fire had affected all the family psychologically, he said.