A man, upset over problems in divorce proceedings between him and his wife, set fire to her lock-up garage.

The blaze wrecked chartered engineer David Common's wife's brand new car, Croydon Crown Court heard. Common, who admitted a charge of arson, was jailed for 12 months on Monday, November 29.

Prosecutor Sarah Lindop said that although there was a court injunction in existence forbidding him having any contact with his wife Brenda, he torched her garage in Dove Close, South Norwood, damaging an estimated total of £8,500. The car was a complete write-off.

Mrs Common was inside on October 17 last year and heard a loud bang. "She looked out of her window and saw the garage alight. She dialled 999 and ran downstairs," said Ms Lindop.

"Her son, James, and a neighbour, off-duty police officer Neil Clarke ran outside and saw Common and spoke to him. It was clear he had been drinking, and he had no shoes on.

"A bottle of barbecue lighter fuel was found on him, and Common said he had only been using it for his lighter.

"But an expert examined it later and found that the fuel was not suitable for that particular kind of lighter.

"In an interview he claimed he had just wanted to talk to his wife."

Common, 43, of Dagnall Park, South Norwood, said he set fire to the window frame of the garage with the lighter, and did not use the fuel. Judge Kenneth Macrae told him: "It is clear you have a long-standing and serious problem with alcohol."