A woman has appeared in court accused of trying to set fire to her neightbour’s home.
Jackie Pottinger, 42, appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court this afternoon (8 December) to face charges of arson and arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.
Wiltshire Police were called Leighfield Close, off Eastcott Hill, yesterday (Tuesday, 7 December) following a report of a suspected arson attempt on a bungalow.
Prosecutor Pauline Lambert alleged the defendant, on the evening of 6 December, placed a bottle of oil in the electric box fixed to the wall of her immediate next-door neighbour’s home.
It was claimed paper had been pushed into the top of the bottle and set alight, leaving scorch marks and ashes in the electric box. The fire went out and did not spread.
The victim, a disabled man who uses a wheelchair for mobility, said in his statement that he recalled hearing a noise at the time but didn’t check until the following morning – and that’s when he discovered the items and alerted the police.
Ms Lambert alleges CCTV caught Pottinger going next door and committing the crime. She asked the court to remand her in custody.
Charlotte Frizzell, defending, told the court her client has “significant vulnerabilities”, urging magistrates not to remand her into prison.
Pottinger was granted bail with conditions to live and sleep at her mother’s address in Beaulieu Close, Toothill, and not attend Leighfield Close – except on one occasion in the company of a police officer to collect her possessions.
The offence of arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered is indictable only, meaning the case can only be heard by a Judge. The case was sent to Swindon Crown Court.
