A man who tried to help his neighbours by burning their rubbish ended up costing them thousands of pounds when the fire got out of hand.
Edward Hedley thought the bonfire he started as a good deed had gone out when he returned to his own home, had some dinner and fall asleep.
But a court heard that as he sat at home the fire spread to two other gardens, smashing one woman's kitchen windows and destroying her children's garden toys.
In another garden the flames engulfed a shed and ruined another neighbour's 'pride and joy' - the £10,000 motorbike he had been restoring for 20 years.
Now, the 59-year-old has pleaded guilty to arson for "a good deed that got out of hand".
North Tyneside Magistrates Court heard that Hedley, of Meadowdale Crescent, Cowgate, Newcastle, had been asked by one of his neighbours to get rid of some of her rubbish.
Prosecutor Lorna Rimell said: "He had been going to the property to burn rubbish.
"On this occasion, on January 8, he left the fire unattended and went back to his own property.
"He went back to use the toilet and had some dinner, and fell asleep, leaving the fire unattended for about half an hour."
The court heard that in that time the fire spread to two neighbouring properties.
In one of them, the kitchen window smashed due to the heat of the fire and a number of items in the garden burnt - including children's toys and a lawnmower - costing around £500.
Ms Rimell said: "The fire also spread to the property on the other side and set a garden shed on fire.
"The shed itself was worth about £1,000. Inside the shed was his pride and joy - a motorbike worth £10,000 he had been restoring over 20 years."
The court heard the second neighbour was a former forester and also had a lot of tools in his shed that were destroyed, costing between £5,000 and £7,000.
In mitigation, the court heard Hedley was "a good man who tried to do a good deed which got out of hand due to recklessness".
Magistrates were told Hedley's neighbours "don't blame him for it and don't want compensation".
They described him as "a brilliant neighbour, always helping out".
The case was adjourned for sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court on July 18.
