A woman torched her own home following a row with her ex-husband.
Akbibi McMillan, 51, sparked two blazes in her kitchen and dining room in the property in Motherwell.
McMillan was left with fractures to her back and ribs after she fell attempting to flee the flames she had ignited.
An investigation was later launched and experts concluded the blaze had been started deliberately and she was charged.
McMillan, of Motherwell, went on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court and denied all wrongdoing but a jury convicted her of wilful fireraising.
Sheriff Martin Jones QC said he would take the 'exceptional' step of not sending her to jail.
He ordered her to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and tagged her for the next six months.
She was also placed under supervision for two years.
In hospital, McMillan handed police a handwritten note to her husband which read: "I know sorry is not enough for what I did but it was not planned or anything."
PC Andrew Hossack told her trial: "She was very emotional and was ranting and raving. She kept trying to sit up in bed and kept saying she was sorry."
Giving evidence, McMillan, originally of Kazakhstan, repeatedly denied she had intentionally started the fire in July 2020.
She claimed to have been 'upset' and smoked a cigarette in the kitchen which was unusual because she usually smoked outside.
McMillan admitted feeling 'really emotional' on the day of the blaze because she had argued with her estranged husband on the phone.
She said she had used a candle as an ashtray and that was the source of the fire.
McMillan told jurors she 'panicked' and tried to calm the flames by flapping at them with a dishtowel which instead caused the fire to intensify and take hold.
She claimed she had taken the flaming cloth to the sink but was forced to admit she could have left it on top of a cupboard.
John Brannigan, defence advocate, said: "There is an acceptance of the seriousness of the matter of which she was convicted."
Sheriff Jones said: "While I fully understand that you thought things at the time were hopeless, it does not excuse your conduct.
"The jury were convinced that you set fire to the house and I have to proceed on that basis.
"Normally an offence of this nature would attract a lengthy prison sentence but, because of the effect it would have on you, I have decided to impose an alternative to custody but understand that is no easy option."
