A man rejected by the fire service has been convicted of nine arson attacks.

Today a jury was considering its verdicts on a further five offences against James Bradshaw, 24. He has been cleared of a further four.

Bradshaw was unanimously convicted of setting fire to a bungalow in Donisthorpe Street, West Bowling, Bradford, where he was living in March last year.

The jury found he was reckless as to whether lives would be endangered when he started a fire in a wardrobe in the evening.

Substantial damage was caused to the property where Bradshaw - known as Jamie - had been living with his wife and two children.

The bungalow was not occupied at the time but the blaze damaged a neighbour's home and put at risk the lives of members of West Yorkshire Fire Service who had to break in and tackle the blaze.

Prosecutor Gordon Lakin told the jury that Bradshaw was arrested at the scene of the blaze which had been burning for 40 minutes before the alarm was raised and the fire service arrived.

Mr Lakin said: "If you set a fire in a semi-detached house you put your neighbours in danger and anyone who has to come and deal with it."

During the two-week trial Bradshaw's landlord, Hameed Abbasi, told the jury that Bradshaw had refused to move out although he had paid no rent.

When asked to go he threatened to attack Mr Abbasi with a sledgehammer and to burn the bungalow down.

Bradshaw's neighbour, Frances Kirkbright, told the court how Bradshaw had lit huge bonfires in the garden and how the fire service was called several times to douse the flames.

Bradshaw has also been convicted of starting a blaze near his parents home in Curlew Street, Little Horton.

The fire in the empty property late on Christmas day night in December 2001 endangered the lives of Carol Mallinson and her elderly parents Stanley and Alice who lived next door.

Mr Lakin told the jury that the blaze was started near the gas meter which melted causing a serious gas escape.

"He obviously had nothing much to do that Christmas day. But for the timely intervention of the fire brigade there could have been an almighty explosion round the gas meter," Mr Lakin said.

In a statement to the court Carol Mallinson said she and her parents were in bed when Bradshaw banged on the front door to alert them to the blazing house next door. She said her parents were terrified. She dressed them quickly and led them to safety.

Bradshaw has also been found guilty of arson at a house in Dickens Street, West Bowling, setting fire to a sales building at Horton Garden Centre and on a separate occasion damaging by fire fencing and plant pots there; setting fire to a portable toilet at roadworks in Manchester Road, Bradford; an arson attack at the Old House At Home Public House; setting fire to a flat at Overton House, Little Horton and an arson attack that damaged a portable cabin and storage container belonging to Amaro Investments Limited.

During the trial Mr Lakin described Bradshaw as "a young man obsessed with fire and fire setting".

He told the jury that when aggravated the defendant saw fire as a means of revenge. He also wanted to play the hero by alerting people to his blazes and giving assistance.

Bradshaw's barrister Sarah Barlow told the jury that people who knew him had called him an "oddball" and "wannabe".

She said he hung round construction sites asking for work. "His passion was to be involved in the building trade," Miss Barlow said.

The court heard that Bradshaw attended the scene of some of the blazes dressed as a construction worker or security guard.

He wore a fluorescent waistcoat and rigger boots.

He pestered fire officers, telling them how best to tackle the fires.

The jury heard that Bradshaw was nicknamed "snake eyes" by workers at Russell Stone in Ripley Road, West Bowling. His father had worked there as a night watchman and Bradshaw took sandwiches to him when he was a teenager.

Bradshaw was cleared of starting a fire at Russell Stone in August 1999 but damaged machinery belonging to the owner Mark Reid.

He was also found not guilty of setting fire to a caravan belonging to Keith Foxton, the owner of Horton Garden Centre, and an arson attack on a sales building at the garden centre.

The jury also cleared him of setting fire to a car in November 2001.

All the verdicts so far are unanimous.