A woman who put lives at risk by setting fire to her own flat on Halloween in an effort to take her own life has been jailed.
Jodie Branley, 26, torched a blanket near to the exit of her home while struggling with mental health issues and having self-harmed.
A court heard how neighbours next door and upstairs from the property in Northumberland were put in potential danger, Chronicle Live reports.
Branley pleaded guilty to arson and being reckless as to whether life was endangered and has now been sentenced to more than two years behind bars at Newcastle Crown Court.
It was at approximately 5.45am on October 31, 2021, that Branley contacted the emergency services stating that she had set her council home on fire.
Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, said: "The defendant was intoxicated and said she was sick of her life and started the fire to end her life.
"There was smoke damage to the hallway and the fire was set near to the exit of the address.
"She said when she remembered a neighbour was present in the upstairs flat, she contacted the emergency services."
The court heard Branley has 49 previous convictions, including for violence and was on a suspended sentence for assaulting an emergency worker at the time.
She was jailed for two years for the arson and 16 weeks of the suspended sentence were activated to run consecutively.
Miss Recorder Kelly told him: "You were reckless as to whether you endangered the lives of others.
"I have seen where your neighbour was and you had another neighbour upstairs.
"There was a significant risk of serious harm, given how close the upstairs property was and the time of the morning the offence was committed."
The court heard Branley had been in care during a traumatic childhood, has mental health issues and a history of abusive relationships and self-harm.
She felt she was not receiving enough support for her "complex" issues, including an unstable personality disorder and PTSD.
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