Woman set fire to own flat in cry for help while on video call to family

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A woman set fire to her own flat in a cry for help whilst on FaceTime with her family. Siobhan Houldsworth was on video call to her sister over Facebook when she set alight a pile of clothes in her bedroom.

She implied that it was her plan to take her own life, Minshull Street Crown Court was told. Emergency services raced to the scene where they found the 26-year-old on the balcony, before escorting her out.

Thankfully, no one was injured in the blaze, however damage was caused to her flat, the property below as well as the communal areas, with repairs costing between £15,000 and £25,000.

Houldsworth pleaded guilty to an offence of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered and was today (March 1) jailed for two years.Prosecutor Alistair Reid told the court that on October 6 last year, Houldsworth was on FaceTime to her family and during that call, she set fire to a pile of clothes.“She made a comment suggesting she was intended to commit suicide,” he said.“While the fire grew bigger an eyewitness, and family friend, said they could see Houldsworth walking around in the flat before police officers attended.“At 12.07pm, officers attended and had to force the front door to the block of flats, before going up to her flat.“They found the defendant in the living room leaning out the balcony.”Officers tried to speak to Houldsworth to get her to leave but she was obstructive and refused and had to be placed in handcuffs, the court heard.There was a suggestion she was intoxicated and that her mental health was affected.The other flats were evacuated and the fire was able to be extinguished.When she was arrested, she said: “I didn’t mean to do it, it was an accident”, but later admitted to the officers: “Obviously I