A 37-YEAR-OLD man started a fire in a block of flats in Galashiels.

Rory Lennon lit a bag of paper at the premises in High Street, on April 12.

He pleaded guilty at Selkirk Sheriff Court to a charge of culpable and reckless conduct.

Lennon also pleaded guilty to making threats towards police officers and their families in a police van travelling between Selkirk and Hawick on August 12 and failing to comply with home night-time curfews.

Prosecutor Drew Long said Lennon had been intoxicated when he set fire to the shopping bag full of paper but rang 999 himself to report the fire.

The court heard that Lennon was in the process of trying to complete a course on becoming a gas engineer after previously having problems with alcohol and drugs.

Sheriff Peter Paterson said the offending would merit a custodial sentence.

But he deferred sentence until January 20 to allow Lennon the opportunity to sit the gas engineering course.

Sheriff Paterson said that if Lennon completed the course a community-based disposal would be looked at.

But he added: “If you fail through any fault of yours it is almost inevitable that jail will follow.”