The mother of fire-raiser Jamie Bradshaw today told how his inability to read and write turned him into a loner.

Elda Bradshaw admitted her son was an "oddball" and "no angel."

But she insisted he was not vengeful and would never recklessly put lives in danger.

Father-of-three Bradshaw, 24, who had been rejected for a job as a firefighter, was found guilty at Leeds Crown Court yesterday of 13 arson attacks, including three where lives had been put at risk. He was cleared of five other arsons.

The fires included one which gutted the rented bungalow, in Donisthorpe Street, West Bowling, where he had been living with his wife Tanya and their children.

He set fire to a wardrobe at the property. The bungalow was not occupied at the time.

A neighbour's home was damaged in the blaze and the lives of firefighters were put at risk as they tackled the fire.

Bradshaw was also convicted of starting a fire at an empty property a few yards from the home of his parents in Curlew Street, Little Horton, on Christmas Day, 2001. The blaze was started near a gas meter, which melted causing a serious gas escape which could have caused an explosion.

The court heard that the lives of Carol Mallinson and her elderly parents Stanley and Alice, who lived next door, were endangered.

Prosecutor Gordon Lakin told the court Bradshaw was "obsessed with fire and fire setting" and saw fire as a means of revenge when he was aggravated. But Mrs Bradshaw, 57, surrounded by her grandchildren's toys at the home she shares with her husband Geoffrey, 67, declared: "That is not my son - and nobody knows him better than me.

"It is not in his nature to be vengeful or recklessly endanger lives. I know what he is and isn't capable of, and endangering life is something he is not capable of."

Mrs Bradshaw added: "He is no angel, but he is not as bad as people have made him out to be. He is not vicious and he is not vindictive."

She said her son was a loner. "He does not make friends easily. He is a family person.

"It stems from him not being able to read and write properly at school. He feels out of things and it preys on his mind.

"He is a bit of an oddball but his heart is in the right place. I don't think there is a neighbour who has a bad word for him."

Mrs Bradshaw said her son did the gardening and cleared the path for a disabled auntie and neighbours, and cut the grass and did car maintenance for her and her husband, who are both disabled.

"He would do anything for anybody. He has a big heart. He wanted to help at the fires, but he was too helpful for his own good."

She said he had applied to join the fire service but was turned down because he could not read or write and had twice unsuccessfully tried to join the Army.

"He was more upset about not getting in the Army. He would have loved it and would have signed up for 22 years."

She said her son was devoted to his children - Katelyn, four, Andrew, three, and ten-month-old Amy. "He is missing them and is upset because he wasn't there for Amy's birth and missed Andrew taking his first steps and saying his first words. He dotes on them and they dote on him."

Mrs Bradshaw said Tanya was putting on a brave face but was struggling to cope.

"She is taking it day by day, as we are. We will still be there for him, as will Tanya. I am angry it got this far. I believe the arsonist is still at large."

Bradshaw's barrister Sarah Barlow yesterday asked for psychiatric reports to be prepared before Bradshaw is sentenced.

Judge Sally Cahill QC told the court the psychiatric report should look into the risk Bradshaw poses to the public. She told Bradshaw: "In my opinion you are a dangerous man and it's only by chance somebody hasn't been injured by your actions."

The judge told Bradshaw he would not be at liberty for a long time, the only question was whether he would go to prison or to another place. Bradshaw was remanded in custody until he is sentenced.

The judge thanked the jury for their hard work during the trial and commended the officer in the case, Detective Constable Steve Hepworth. The judge praised DC Hepworth for putting together a case that spanned five years of offences and included 1,000 minutes of interview time.