AN arsonist had an attack of conscience after setting a fire in an empty terraced house and called 999 from his mobile phone for help.

Anthony Abel set fire to net curtains in Church Street, West Bank, to gain revenge on his former landlady after being evicted from the house for not paying his rent.

But on seeing the fire take hold, 24-year-old Abel, of Milton Road in Widnes, called the emergency services.

Warrington Crown Court heard on Friday how a family with a severely disabled nine-year-old daughter lived next door.

“When fires are started, tragedies can occur and people could have been seriously hurt or even died,” Judge Nicholas Woodward told Abel.

The blaze caused £4,000 worth of damage.

The court also heard how Abel had been arrested on drugs charges in September.

Police had gone to his home on September 8 and ask they knocked on the door Abel ran away carrying a small drawstring bag which he then threw away.

It contained 85 grammes of cannabis and 10 bags of cocaine. The street value of the drugs was more than £600.

While he was on bail for possession of those drugs, he was stopped by police officers on November 9.

He had a cannabis grinder and five wraps of cocaine on him, and was arrested and handcuffed.

But he escaped the police, still wearing the handcuffs, and ran to a friend who cut him free.

Abel will spend six years in prison for the offences – four years for the arson attack and two years for the possession of cocaine with intent to supply.