TWO terrified young men were forced to escape through a roof and desperately cling on to a chimney "for dear life" after their friend – who was high on M-Cat – started fires in a bedroom below where they were sleeping.
They thought they would die as they hurriedly tried to flee to safety through a skylight after their bedroom filled with thick black smoke, a court heard.
James North, 18, of Cemetery Crescent, Laceby, near Grimsby, admitted arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered, on June 24.
Gurdial Singh, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that Christopher Wells and his family went on holiday, leaving North, who was his daughter's boyfriend, in charge of their home.
North allowed two friends, Daniel Watts and Daniel Hague, to visit and they stayed over at the house in Fairmont Road, Grimsby. They all used the drug M-Cat and North became paranoid, erratic and unpredictable.
The two other young men went to bed in an attic above the bedroom used by the parents of North's girlfriend. They awoke in the early hours to find thick black smoke had filled the room.
They could not see anything and began to panic. They were desperate to escape and managed to flee, wearing just their underwear, through a skylight to the roof.
"They were clinging on to the chimney for dear life," said Mr Singh. "Daniel Watts believed they could have died."
North had used an accelerant to start fires in three areas of the other bedroom, including on top of a wardrobe, on the bed and on the floor.
Mr Hague later said: "I feel lucky to have got out alive. It's going to affect me for the rest of my life."
He added that he thought North "was trying to kill us" and said: "I thought we were friends – but not now."
House owner Mr Wells found the first floor badly smoke-damaged, carpets were unusable, several items were ruined and parts of the floor and ceilings needed replacing. He was not insured and repairs had cost about £10,000 so far.
The family were made temporarily homeless for a while and had to live elsewhere.
North was locked up for 21 months but, because of early release provisions and tagging, he is expected to be released after serving between just two and five months.
DEFENDANT'S ACTIONS DESCRIBED AS APPALLING JAMES North's barrister described his client's actions as "appalling". Craig Lowe, mitigating, said North had taken M-Cat, cannabis and alcohol when he recklessly started the three fires. He later panicked. "It's a very serious incident," said Mr Lowe. "His actions were appalling." North had shown remorse and had learned his lesson. He regretted the heartache he had caused to people. The court heard North had no previous convictions, acted out of character and was in his second year on a BTec course at Grimsby Institute. He had a young daughter, had 13 GCSEs, served in the army for a short time, was working part-time and wanted to be a sports psychologist. Judge Mark Bury told North: "There were very serious consequences to this offence you have committed. Two men were put at peril. This was a very, very serious offence." It was very lucky that there was a skylight for them to escape through, he added.