A MAN was jailed for setting fire to the car of his ex-girlfriend's new partner, which spread to their house, forcing the couple to escape onto the roof.

Terrence Martin, 30, of no fixed abode, was jailed for four-and-a-half years at Newport Crown Court today after pleading guilty to arson.

An existing community order for battery was also revoked and replaced with a concurrent sentence of one month.

Martin was jailed for setting fire to the upholstery of his ex-girlfriend's new partner's car, and due to the amount of heat generated, the blaze spread to the nearby terrace house, causing extensive damage.

Martin went to the house in George Street, Pontypool in the early hours of August 25 last year, and the couple were woken by him throwing stones at the windows and shouting.

He then smashed the window on the Peugeot car parked outside and set fire to the upholstery with a cigarette lighter.

The heat from the fire caused the windows on the house to smash and the couple had to escape through an upstairs window and were rescued from an adjacent rooftop by firefighters.

An ambulance was also sent to the scene, but the two people escaped without injury.

Martin also has 44 previous convictions for 126 offences, including criminal damage, assault and arson.

Judge Roderick Denyer QC said: "I accept it took place against the background of what was clearly not an easy relationship, it also took place at a time when you had a considerable amount to drink.

"It seems to me it is inevitable there has to be a quite lengthy sentence of imprisonment, the appropriate sentence for what was a bad arson attack is four-and-a-half years.

"If you commit a further serious offence, you will find yourself staring down the barrel of a life sentence."