A man is set to be sentenced after he admitted setting a pub on fire in Wigan.
Karl Banks, 38, of Great Acre, Wigan, pleaded guilty to arson and being reckless as to whether the life of another would be thereby endangered at Bolton Crown Court.
The fire happened on February 2 at the The Earl of Balcarres public house.
Defence barrister Louis French told the court : "The plea is entered on the basis of him being reckless."
Judge Graeme Smith adjourned sentencing until April 13, to allow a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
Following the fire, landlady Leanne Brownbridge told the Manchester Evening News that she had fortunately been in hospital with her daughter at the time of the blaze, but that she had 'lost everything'.
She said: "My house, my job, it's all gone. I don't know what I'm going to do.
"There's nothing there except a big pile of ashes.
"I'm heartbroken. I haven't even got the words to describe how I feel.
"My life has gone. I know we're lucky to be alive, but we literally have nothing."
No one was injured and firefighters managed to rescue the family's two bulldogs, Mavis and Dave, and pet tortoise from the burning building.
But the inferno tore through the boozer's upstairs living quarters, destroying Ms Brownbridge's home and all of her possessions.
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