A Gateshead woman who was struggling with her mental health set fire to the council house she hated living in, causing thousands of pounds of damage, a court heard.
Caroline Robertson admitted arson after torching the semi-detached property on Priestley Gardens, Wardley, Gateshead, which she was renting from the council.
Texts before the fire
Newcastle Crown Court was told that Robertson had previously posted on Facebook saying she wished to exchange the home for another because she "hated where she lived".
Shortly before starting the fire, she sent a number of texts saying things such as "goodbye", "let me die" and "my house is about to go boom".
Emergency response
Around an hour later, at 12.15am on February 10 2025, the house was on fire. Emergency services attended and found a fire on the ground floor, with Robertson standing at an upstairs bedroom window.
She was rescued with an extension ladder while entry was forced to the locked home. The fire had been started by torching a pile of rubbish in the utility room. It did not spread from that room, but there was smoke damage throughout the house.
Cost of the damage
The court heard it cost Gateshead Council £7,575 to repair the damage, and they lost a further £2,310 in revenue, with the property uninhabitable for a time.
Five firefighters and eight police officers attended the scene, with two crime scene investigators and a fire investigator also later attending.
