A WOMAN told a firefighter she had suffered “a bad day” when she started a fire in the bedroom of her Southampton home, the city crown court heard.

Sally Moody, who used a lighter on sheets, was alone in the property at the time, with her husband at work.

Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley told how firefighters, summoned by Moody, tackled the blaze shortly before 1.30am. The fire caused extensive smoke damage but was confined to the bedroom.

Moody, 55, of Rylands Court, Maybush, Southampton, admitted arson when reckless to whether life might be endangered.

Rufus Taylor, defending, said the mum of four had been discussing that night with her sisters the death of their father. The judge, Recorder Michael Parroy QC, said there may have been a cry for help in what she did.

Imposing an 18-month suspended sentence with two years supervision, the judge said: “If the fire had taken a much greater hold and got into the roof, the family next door would have been put at risk.”