A man who set fire to his flat in a death bid has been jailed for four years.

Bradford Crown court heard how Matthew Pickles tried to kill himself on several occasions after his mother died in a house fire six years ago.

In April, he set fire to paper and other material only a day after he moved into the flat in Salt Street, Manningham, Bradford.

An anonymous caller alerted the fire brigade who dragged Pickles semi-conscious from the smoke-filled flat.

The fire was quickly put out but the whole flat was damaged by smoke.

Five weeks later, he was arrested while at Lynfield Mount Hospital and admitted to the police that he had started the fire in a bid to kill himself.

Pickles, 24, pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

In mitigation, Mark Fletton said that Pickles, who had been diagnosed with a "borderline personality disorder'' last year, was realistic enough to know he was going to jail.

He added: "This was not an attempt by him to injure anybody else but himself. His sole intention on that particular day was to take his own life.

"He has had very difficult problems from the age of 11 or 12. The most profound impact upon him was his mother's death in December 1993. The death of his mother hit this man particularly hard."

Passing sentence, Recorder P D Batty QC said Pickles posed "a real danger to the public''.

He added: "Firemen wearing breathing apparatus had to enter your flat and break down the door in order to rescue you. There were, in fact, lives endangered as a result of your actions.''

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