A HEARTBROKEN man put his neighbours’ lives at risk as he torched his ground floor flat in Redbridge.

Nikki Davis burned his Southampton City Council-owned property in Redbridge Hill in the late afternoon of September 1, with people in the five storeys above forced out as the fire grew bigger.

The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to arson at Southampton Crown Court, admitting to setting fire to his flat while in a poor state of mind following years of personal problems.

Judge Nicholas Rowland told the court Davis actions could have had a devastating outcome.

He said: “You set fire to your own ground floor flat in a building with five storeys.

“In any event what you did was extremely serious.

“You do not have a long history of offending...but this was so dangerous.”

At the time of the incident, Hampshire Fire and Rescue raced to the block at around 5.40pm to find the bottom floor of the building on fire and some residents outside.

It took firefighters nearly an hour to tackle the scene, with crews from St Marys Fire Station and Eastleigh Fire Station using hose reels, jets and breathing apparatus to control and extinguish the fire.

It was unclear how the fire started, so an investigation into the blaze was launched.

Mitigating, Claire Wiggett told the court that the breakdown in his relationship had “taken its toll” on Davis as did a medical condition which his son suffers with.

Ms Wiggett said: “Since his son was two and a half years old, he has had a recurring problem and has been rushed in and out of hospital for operations.”

She added that since being placed in custody, he has completed a fire prevention course. Davis, of Redbridge Hill, Redbridge, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.

Andrew Pope, Southampton Independents councillor for the Redbridge ward, said residents had a right to feel safe in their own homes and must have been “terrified” following the incident.

He added: “It’s very important that justice is seen to be done, particularly in the light of Grenfell.

“People living in flats want to know that they are safe and having their lives put at risk raises a serious issue about fire safety.”