A homeless man who doused a car with petrol before setting it alight in Bickley has been jailed for four and a half years - and banned from the borough of Bromley.

Christopher Lock, also known as Peter Blaney, was living rough in the woods nearby when he set fire to the vehicle parked in Cloisters Avenue on November 5.

At around 2am the householder was woken by his car alarm going off when the vehicle was set alight.

The blaze had spread to the garden fence with 20ft flames reaching up to their bedroom window.

To stop the flames spreading to their house the husband and wife tackled the blaze themselves until officers from the London Fire Brigade arrived to extinguish it.

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The burnt out car in Cloisters Avenue, Bickley.

CCTV footage showed Lock walking up to the car with a petrol can, before setting it on fire and he was arrested in nearby Thornet Wood Road five days later.

The 52-year-old was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court today (October 5) to four and a half years, with a further two years to be served on licence, after being found guilty of arson with intent to endanger life.

Lock was also issued with a Criminal Behaviour Order which will take effect upon his release with the following conditions:

* Not to enter the area within the Bromley borough bounded by the A222 in the north, the A208 and Perry Hall Road in the east, High Street Orpington and A232 in the south, and the A21 (Hastings Road/Bromley Common/Kentish Way) in the west.

* Not to erect any structure or tent on any private or public land without the landowner's written consent.

* Not to live or sleep on any private or public land without the landowner's written consent

* Not to contact the victims of this crime either directly or indirectly.