A DAD who set fire to a discarded takeaway menu and pushed it through the letterbox of a home where a young couple were sleeping has been jailed.

Ryan McCready, of Four Acre Lane, St Helens was sentenced to four years in prison at Chester Crown Court last Thursday, April 6, after pleading guilty to criminal damage and arson.

The court heard how the 21-year-old embarked on a crime spree after he became enraged over a dispute about a bike with a friend who has learning disabilities and mental health problems.

The argument began after the 18-year-old victim gave a bike away against McCready’s wishes.

Despite the fact the bike did not belong to McCready, he decided to confront his friend and demanded he get the bike back or he would 'smash his head in'.

McCready refused to back down and returned to his friend's flat in Orford where he had been staying.

In a rage he pushed a fridge, which had yet to be moved to inside one of the neighbouring properties, over a first-floor balcony on Hastings Avenue in Orford.

Days later he also smashed one of the windows of the property and destroyed furniture inside.

But matters escalated when his friend and his girlfriend woke up to find the flat filled with smoke at 1.30am on August 25, 2015.

It later transpired that McCready, who has previously served time in prison, had set fire to a takeaway menu with a lighter and pushed it through the letterbox.

Prosecuting Gareth Roberts said "If the door had caught fire then the only method of exit would have been closed off.

"The fire was started in the middle of the night and he would have known the occupants would have been sleeping.

"If the fire had caught it could have caused significant damage and a catastrophic loss of life."

Oliver King, defending, told the court how McCready now hopes to turn his life around.

He said: "Ryan McCready is an intelligent young man and who at his best when life is going well is able to hold down a job and a relationship and get on with life.

"His problem is twofold.

"He has a bad temper and when life does not go his way and people antagonise him he flares up relatively quickly.

"His other problem is with cannabis."

But Judge Patrick Thompson said he had no option but to impose an immediate custodial sentence on McCready, who has a number of previous convictions including failing to stop at the scene of an accident and dangerous driving.

He said: "You are now a father yourself.

“I hope you will use this sentence to sort your temper and build a better life for you and your child."