A teenager who started late-night fires in his bedsit after his "treasured" Adidas trainers had been stolen has been locked up for 30 months.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Jake Underwood's footwear represented a mark of affection from his mother. His barrister Jane Beckett said that was why their loss caused him to get things out of proportion that night.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp told the court today that the 19-year-old was so infuriated by the theft of the trainers that he set fire to a mattress in his room at the house in New Cross Street, West Bowling.

Underwood then went to speak to the landlord of the multiple occupancy property and after becoming aggressive he returned to his room where he then started two more fires.

Mr Sharp said Underwood set light to the carpet in the middle of the room and also started a blaze under the window which led to the curtains catching fire.

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He said that fire caused a window pane to fall out and that let more oxygen into the room.

The court heard that the property contained 15 bedsits and at least one person was at home when the fires were started.

A passer-by alerted the emergency services who responded quickly to the call, but a fire officer concluded that the blaze could have spread rapidly if they had not attended the scene.

The damage caused to the bedsit was estimated to be about £5,000 and Underwood later told police that he was sorry for his actions.

He told officers that he didn't know what was going through his mind at the time and didn't consider the consequences.

Underwood pleaded guilty to a charge of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered following the fire in March and today Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC sent him to a young offenders institution for 30 months.

Mrs Beckett said her client realised now that he had done something very wrong, but she said he was also in desperate need of guidance and support.

Judge Durham Hall said Underwood had a "tragic" personal history, but he told the teenager that other people at the property could have been hurt or killed if the fire service had not been able to put the blazes out.