A SERIAL arsonist who had to be saved by passersby when she set fire to her home has avoided jail.

Laura King, 25, started the blaze at a house in Barrack Street, Colchester, after a drunken row with her then partner.

He had left the property when staff at nearby Zara’s Fish Bar noticed smoke.

One worker rushed in and found King sat on the floor with her back to the sofa.

He eventually managed to get her out, before she rushed back in drunkenly believing someone else was inside.

Another member of the public smashed the glass to the window to let out some of the smoke and firefighters arrived in time to complete the rescue.

An investigation by the fire service showed the blaze had been started deliberately when a naked flame was lit close to a towel, while an iron was left on close to other electrical items.

The fire caused £34,000 worth of damage.

King, who has three previous convictions for arson, was arrested on the same day of the incident in September 2016.

She initially denied two counts of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered which included another fire at her previous home in Priory Street.

But the trial was abandoned when King, 25, fell ill. During a re-trial she admitted to the Barrack Street fire and the other charge was allowed to lie on file.

Passing sentence at Ipswich Crown Court, Judge David Goodin said the mum-of-one was lucky to escape prison.

He said: “You impressed the doctor who wrote a report on you as a well-dressed, well-presented young woman.

“But you present to me as a nicely dressed young arsonist with previous convictions for doing exactly the same thing.

“Arson, you know better than most people as you will have been told in the past, is a most serious offence because you may think you are setting fire to a bedroom or set of curtains but three hours later you have burned down half the town.

“It is thanks to the actions of a number of members of the public and the fire service who put themselves at personal risk every time they are called, that you survived.

“This was a terraced house and in that situation the two houses next door could have gone up, then the next two, then the next two.

“There was £34,000 worth of damage and that was good luck.”

Judge Goodin handed King, now of Tye Road, Ipswich, two years in jail suspended for two years.

She must attend 40 rehabilitation days and has been encouraged to seek help for her mental health issues and her drinking.

Donal Lawler, mitigating, said: “She is an extremely vulnerable adult with an extremely traumatic background.”