Judge praises life-saving blaze rescuer

Sophia Cassidy, 20, started a fire at her home in Nutfield Street following problems in the relationship with her partner, but Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday how passer-by Shaun Aspinall put his own life at risk to drag her from the house.

Prosecutor Martin Haigh described how Cassidy's boyfriend returned to the house last March to find the living room full of smoke.

Mr Aspinall was walking by as Cassidy's boyfriend called the emergency services. After hearing she was inside he went into the house and dragged her out with the help of her boyfriend.

Cassidy, now of Halifax Road, Todmorden, pleaded guilty to a charge of arson at an earlier hearing. Her barrister Richard Butters said psychiatrists had concluded that his client suffered from a personality disorder.

Cassidy was made the subject of a two-year community order with a mental health treatment requirement and supervision.