Raging arsonist put lives at risk by setting fire to his partner's home after attacking her in the early hours of New Year's Day.
Jamie Simmons flew into a fury after the mum left him in town after spotting the warning signs that he was about to turn violent. A court he was angry as he was left alone with no money or cigarettes and as he walked to her house he sent her an image suggesting he was going to harm himself and blaming her.
When she got to her home in Walker, Newcastle, he was waiting for her and ignored her pleas not to assault her. She left but when she returned home found it was on fire, causing extensive damage.
Now Simmons, 30, of Heaton Park Court, Heaton, Newcastle, has been jailed for 32 months at Newcastle Crown Court after admitting arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, battery and harassment.
The court heard they had been together for around six months but their relationship deteriorated after the woman had a miscarriage following an attack by her ex. Rather than support her, Simmons became angry and jealous and had been violent to her on at least two previous occasions, although she didn't report it to police.
On New Year's Eve last year, they went out with friends in Newcastle. But after midnight, she noticed his demeanour changed "in a way she recognised as a precursor, potentially, to violence," David Povall, prosecuting, told the court.
She called her friend to take her home and on the way there got a series of messages from a "clearly enraged" Simmons. He sent a picture of his wrist with what appeared to be a shard of glass held against it, with the caption "your fault this".
The woman was concerned he would be waiting for her at home at St Anthony's Road, Walker, so asked her friend to wait nearby. Her fears were proved correct and despite her pleas for him not to, he attacked her, punching her to the head and knocking her to the ground.
Her screams alerted the friend, whose knock on the window brought the assault to an end. The victim suffered bruising and reddening to her face. She then left with the friend and tried to find somewhere else to stay the night but when that was unsuccessful, she returned home around 3.30am.
Mr Povall said: "As soon as she got inside she was greeted by smoke and what she described as intense heat. She thought the defendant, given his previous threats to himself, might be inside the house and she ran inside to see whether she could find him but the smoke drove her back."
Firefighters and police attended and it was established no one was inside the house. Simmons had set three seats of fire, the main one being in the victim's young daughter's bedroom. She was staying with relatives that night but her bedroom was extensively damaged, as was the rest of the house. It was estimated the repairs would have run into thousands of pounds.
Referring to the effect on the victim, who had stayed with Simmons as he had promised to seek help for his issues, Mr Povall said: "She has been left extremely distressed by this. She describes herself as drained and shocked by the level of violence and she is concerned for her daughter's safety."
Jailing Simmons for 32 months and imposing a five-year restraining order, Judge Julie Clemitson said: "The damage to the house is clearly significant, particularly to her daughter's bedroom.
"This was a terraced house and the fire was set in the dead of night when people may have been expected to be sleeping, notwithstanding it was New Year's Eve. It therefore caused a risk, not only to your ex partner but also to those firefighters who had to come and deal with the fire and a risk to any neighbours, to their lives and their property."
Vic Laffey, defending, said Simmons did it in a "moment of madness" after having to walk home. He added: "This has been a real wake up call for him.
"He would like to apologise to his former partner and to his mother and aunt for the pain he has put them through."
