A woman has been sentenced to a hospital order after setting a fire in the communal area of a block of flats.
Kelly Harrop, 38, had gone into the apartment complex in Stalybridge and set a fire using a number of items including photos, a rucksack and a microwave box filled with packaging.
Fortunately, members of the public spotted the fire and were able to extinguish it with buckets of water, Minshull Street Crown Court.
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There was limited damage to the hallway and nobody was injured during the blaze.
Harrop, of Market Street, has since been residing at the Edenfield Centre in Prestwich where she has been receiving treatment.
She was previously found unfit to plead and unfit to stand trial. Earlier this year, jurors found she had committed the act of arson during a finding of facts trial.
Today (Monday, November 7), a judge sentenced Harrop to a section 37 hospital order, under the Mental Health Act 1983, which means she will be admitted and detained at the Edenfield Centre and will continue receiving treatment for a mental health disorder.
Summarising the facts, Judge Maurice Greene said that earlier on December 2 of last year, Harrop had been at the bus stop where she was in ‘not a very good state’, before she went home.
“You set a small fire in the communal area. You had a lot of items, some photos, items in a rucksack and a microwave box containing packaging,” he said.
“Obviously the people in the flats saw the fire, to them it wasn’t a small fire, and they used buckets of water and a fire extinguisher to put the fire out.
“It was very worrying to those people who lived in the flats, but little damage was caused.”
The court heard that Harrop has previous convictions for disorderly behaviour and criminal damage, as well as an offence of threatening behaviour in November 2021.
Doctors from the prosecution and defence agreed that due to her mental health, Harrop was not fit to stand trial and she was transferred to the Edenfield Centre after a short stay in custody.
A number of medical reports were prepared in which Harrop was found to be suffering from a chronic psychotic disorder consistent with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.
Dr Andrew Shepherd, a psychiatrist, told the court that Harrop has been receiving therapy and has been working with doctors to assist with her confidence upon eventually moving back into the community. He said it was too early to say how well she was progressing but doctors are positive at this stage.
In sentencing, Judge Greene added: “The consequences could have been very serious, but the fact is they weren’t.
“For the protection of others and for your own health and safety, I believe it is appropriate for you to maintain the treatment at the Edenfield Centre. That is the most suitable method of dealing with the case.”
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