An arsonist has been jailed for six-and-a-half years for torching his own house and locking the door, trapping his housemate inside. 

Przemek Berg, 25, deliberately set fire to curtains in his home after learning he was to be evicted. 

He walked out, locking the door behind him, leaving a labourer working on a nearby house to rescue a trapped tenant through an upstairs window with his ladder.

Three other people inside at the time fled through the door of the house in Leander Road, Thornton Heath.

Detective Constable Frances Leary, from Croydon police, said: "Berg put the lives of his fellow tenants in real danger by starting a fire in the house.

"It is only by good fortune that those who were in the building at the time were not seriously injured and were able to get out unharmed."

Berg was charged with arson with intent to endanger life on October 10 over the April 3 incident and found guilty following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey on November 14.

DC Leary said: "Berg's actions were extremely reckless and the length of his sentence reflects this."

Arek Basaj, 25, also of Leander Road, was found not guilty of arson with intent to endanger life after being charged over the same fire.