A drunk man left a pub and started setting fires around town in a 50 minutes arson spree.
Carl Williamson left the Jolly Nailor pub in Wigan and began to set things alight including a parked car and wheelie bins.
On the evening of August 16, 2020, the 34-year-old also started a fire under a staircase leading to a flat.
READ MORE: Burglars caught on CCTV doing a 'trial run' day before home raided
Bolton Crown Court heard that after leaving the pub at around 3.20am, Williamson made his way down Market Street, before trying and failing to set fire to a bin.
However he continued and then took a wheelie bin from the side of a beauty salon, set it alight, and moved it to the back of a car that was parked close to houses in Hampson Street, the MEN reports.
The court was told that Williamson then watched on as flames took over the car.
Williamson then set fire to some wood in a storage area, which was underneath stairs leading to a flat in Stanley Street.
Ian Murray, watch manager for the local firefighting crew said it could have 'easily spread' to the flat itself, if it hadn't been discovered when it was.
Williamson also set fire to a street bin outside Ladbrokes and another next to jewellery store Rings 'n' Things.
When police arrived at the scene, officers found him sat at in a bus stop watching firefighters tackle the fires he had started.
He was arrested and initially denied committing the offences, however he later plead guilt to two counts of arson - reckless as to whether life is endangered, two counts of simple arson and a count of attempted arson.
The owner of the car, David Healy, said in a victim impact statement that not only did the crime have a significant financial impact on him but it left him feeling 'angry, stressed and violated.'
Defending, Lucy Wright told the court that Williamson, of Beech Close, Hull, has a number of learning difficulties and 'lacks consequential thinking.'
She said that he has already spent 11 months on remand and has gained trusted prisoner status, securing a job in a workshop.
Ms Wright added that Williamson has no real explanation for his behaviour, other than being drunk.
Judge Elizabeth Nicholls deemed Williamson to be dangerous and issued him with an extended sentence.
Imposing a total sentence of five-and-a-half years, she said: "The damage you caused that night is not enormous, it probably comes at under £10,000.
"However the impact that those fires had and could have had were very severe."
