A Moray man who barricaded his front door before attempting to set fire to his own home was admonished when he appeared yesterday at Elgin Sheriff Court.
The court heard that 60-year-old Terence Moore was “trying to attract attention” when he lit the blaze last December, after an evening of drinking.
Moore placed piles of wood and bedding against the main entrance to his property, and then set them alight.
It was only when a neighbour noticed smoke billowing from the door that the alarm was raised.
The neighbour promptly forced open the door and smothered the blaze, then discovered Moore unconscious in his living room.
Another neighbour called the emergency services before removing the accused from the property for his own safety.
The defendant later confessed that he was responsible for the fire, but could not recall the circumstances behind it.
Moore, of 5 Shearer Avenue in Buckie, admitted to wilfully setting fire to bedding and wood, causing a fire within a building, damaging doors and walls and placing himself and others at risk on December 13 last year.
The case was first called before the court in July, when sentence was deferred for six months for Moore to prove he could be of good behaviour.
Representing Moore, solicitor David Adam said a report compiled on his client since that time had been “very positive”.
Mr Adam explained that concerns over the accused’s mental health had been alleviated since the time of the incident.
He added: “My client was trying to attract attention to his problems, and those problems have died down now.
“The charges are serious and the consequences might have been even more serious if not for the intervention of his neighbours.”
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov referred to the matter as “an unusual case”, but said that Moore had worked hard to address the issues that led to the incident.
She told him: “Given the high level of involvement you have undertaken with various agencies, and bearing in mind that those efforts will continue, I’m going to admonish you.”