JEALOUS Sean Jakubowski has been jailed for three and a half years after admitting starting a fire at a love rival's house.

After torching the cars of his former girlfriend and her mother in the middle of the night, the 23-year-old went to the garage to refill his jerry can with petrol.

He then went to his ex's new boyfriend's home and started fires at the front and back doors, as well as under the car on the drive.

And when a passer-by flagged him down to see if he had a mobile phone to dial 999, Jakubowski lied and said he hadn't. He insisted he would ring but did not.

At the trial, George Threlfall, prosecuting, told a jury: "The Crown say this is a case really quite simply of revenge doubtlessly motivated by feelings of rejection and jealousy."

He said Claire Heavens and Richard Jones had been seeing each other for a few months in 2003 but split up when he was offered work away from home.

She then embarked on a six-month relationship with Jakubowski but that broke down when he got too serious too quickly for her.

Miss Heavens told the court that four months after splitting with the defendant she got back together with Mr Jones, which upset Jakubowski.

Shortly after 4am on December 6, 2005, he set light to two Vauxhall Corsas belonging to Miss Heavens and her mum, which were parked outside the family home in Swindon Road, Wroughton.

As she was waiting outside for the fire brigade to arrive, Miss Heavens saw what she believed to be Jakubowski in his car driving past.

Shortly afterwards a blaze was started at the home where Mr Jones lived with his family around the corner, in Wharf Road.

Mr Threlfall said: "The Crown say given all the circumstances the irrefutable inference is that he intended to endanger the life of the person he saw as his successful rival in the affections of Miss Heavens."

Jakubowski, of Langton Park, Wroughton, denied a charge of arson with intent to endanger life and being reckless as to whether life was endangered but admitted three counts of arson.

Giving evidence from the witness box he said: "I deeply regret doing it", saying he had been drinking, his parents were splitting up and had just had a row with his father.

But he insisted he had not intended to endanger anyone's life in the fire-raising spree.

Following a four-day trial a jury convicted him of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered but could not reach a verdict on arson with intent to endanger life.

Mr Threlfall said the prosecution would not proceed with a retrial and offered no evidence on the more serious charge.

Marcus Davey, defending, said it was a spur of the moment decision to start the fires after he had been drinking.

Jailing him, Recorder Ian Pringle QC said: "On December 6, 2005, in the early hours of the morning you behaved in what can only be described as a wicked way. The circumstances of what you did could have been catastrophic."

Passing the three and a half year term, he said the 10 months he had spent on remand would count towards the sentence.