A man is starting a jail sentence for setting fire to the door of his boss's home.

James Phillips went to a filling station in Colchester and bought a can and some petrol before dousing the door of the house.

A court heard how 32-year-old Phillips tried to put the fire out but ran off when he heard the siren of a fire engine approaching.

Luckily, neighbours managed to extinguish the blaze before firemen arrived at the scene.

At the time, Phillip's work supervisor Alan Cullen, his wife and son were in their Bergholt Road home, Chelmsford Crown Court heard yesterday (Thursday).

Phillips was jailed for four years after he admitted a charge of arson on December 22 last year.

He received another year - consecutive - for being in breach of a suspended sentence. Phillips was upset after trouble flared at a pre-Christmas drink with colleagues from air conditioning firm MFD, where he worked as a fitter.

His sister was ejected from Quilter's pub after spraying Mr Cullen with cream from a can.

Mr Cullen went home to bed but, in the meantime, Phillips went to the Esso service station in Bergholt Road at 10pm and bought a can, petrol and some cigarettes, Nadeem Ahmed, prosecuting, told the court.

"He was seen by a passing motorist in the front garden of a house pouring what appeared to be water on the path outside the front door," Mr Ahmed said.

"The motorist returned up the road a few minutes later and saw the door of the house was on fire.

"Mrs Cullen had been disturbed by the noise outside and raised the alarm," Mr Ahmed told the court.

Phillips was later identified on CCTV footage at the garage and was arrested at his Princess Drive, High Woods, Colchester, home in the early hours of the next morning.

Jude Durr, mitigating, said Phillips had been drinking and the incident involving his sister and Mr Cullen had affected him.

"There was a complete lack of sophistication and guile and fortunately, there were no injuries," Mr Durr said.

"He has expressed genuine regret and remorse over this," Mr Durr added.

The 12-month suspended sentence on Phillips was imposed at Chelmsford Crown Court last year after he admitted biting off part of a soldier's ear following an incident outside a nightclub.

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