Drunk friend admits arson
A man has admitted starting a blaze at a block of flats in Staffordshire which caused neighbours to flee from their homes.
Eric Bougen, aged 32, started the fire deliberately in his friend's flat in Wilcox Avenue, Hednesford, causing over £18,000 worth of damage, Stafford Crown Court heard.
Tenant Jon de Luca-Bossa woke up and fled from the blaze, leaving Bougen to be rescued from the bathroom by firefighters.
Lindsey Whitehouse, who lived in the flat above, smelled smoke and burning at around 10.30pm on January 10. She woke her partner and, together with her six-month-old baby, fled.
Mr Paul Farrow, prosecuting, said both men had been drinking and they fell asleep on the settee.
"The next thing Mr Bossa recalls is waking up with the flat smelling of smoke," he said. "The room was pitch black and he was choking.
"He kicked the back door open and went out that way. He didn't know where the defendant was."
Bougen, who is now living in a secure centre for alcoholics, told police he lit some paper so he could see in the dark. He admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
Mr Stephen Bailey, mitigating, said Bougen had been drinking "catastrophic" amounts of alcohol. Bougen is due to be sentenced on May 7.
