Arsonist set to be detained over blaze which nearly torched neighbours' home
An arsonist who started a fire which could have torched her neighbours' home is set to be detained in a mental health facility.
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Kelly Ford, 35, and formerly of Haughton Road, Shifnal, appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court for a sentencing hearing after admitting three charges of arson, but Judge Anthony Lowe adjourned the decision pending reports from psychiatrists.
Myles Wilson, prosecuting, told how Ford had set fire to a shed in the garden of her property on Haughton Road in Shifnal on August 3 last year.
The blaze spread to the neighbouring home, and major disaster was only averted thanks to a passing retired firefighter, who tackled the fire with some nearby builders, until the fire service arrived.
The court heard the incident, at around 10.30am, caused serious damage to the property – with damage to the fence panels, the satellite dish, the brickwork, roof felt, along with melted guttering.
Moving victim impact statements from Ford's neighbours described how the incident was the culmination of a series of erratic anti-social behaviour from Ford.
The court heard that as one of the home's owners arrived back at the property after being alerted to the fire Ford had opened a bottle of Coca Cola, spraying some of the contents in her face.
