Angry because he could not make contact with his on-off girlfriend Antony Matthews set fire to her home.

Anita Sidhu and her 11-year-old daughter were watching from the safety of a friend’s house, but a judge said he either thought they were inside or did not care whether they were or not.

Jailing Matthews, 32, for three-and-a-half years, Judge Martin Joy added: “You are very fortunate you did not cause death or serious injury.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard that despite Matthews’ actions Miss Sidhu “loves him to pieces” and wants to be with him.

Paul Valder, prosecuting, said the couple had been in a relationship for about two years but things started to go awry. He became violent and jealous.

While out with friends on May 10 this year, Miss Sidhu received texts from Matthews. She returned to her home in Strood in the early hours of the next day and saw him standing outside her two-storey maisonette.

She did not want to see him and went to the friend’s home where her daughter was waiting.

They went upstairs and saw that Matthews, high on drink and cocaine, was shouting and kicking the door of her home.

He left and then returned, knelt down and smashed a pane of glass. He threw something through the hole and flames erupted.

“She ran out, thinking her house would burn down,” said Mr Valder. “She couldn’t enter because of the flames and heat.”

Firefighters put out the blaze. Matthews later returned and was then arrested.

A forensic scientist found that a rug and mail had been set alight. He added that if anyone had been inside their escape would have been blocked by flames and smoke.

Matthews, of Hayle Road, Maidstone, admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Judge Joy said Miss Sidhu had stated at the time: “I honestly believe he thought we were in the property. I have seen how black the bedroom is from the smoke and dread to think what would have happened if she [her daughter] had been in her bed.”

The judge told Matthews: “This was a dreadful offence. Plainly, you were under the impression they were either inside or not caring. It was an extremely dangerous thing to do.”

Matthews, having drunk heavily and taken cocaine, was a perilous combination, said his lawyer Trevor Wright.

Miss Sidhu had written to himin prison and visited him weekly.

“The emotion between them is extremely strong,” Mr Wright told the judge. “She loves him to pieces. She wants to be with him. You may think that quite remarkable.

“He made it clear he bitterly regrets his actions and expresses his remorse. It seems it has been accepted. I think it is fair to say she has forgiven him.”

Matthews had begun a course in alcohol abuse and accepted he needed professional help. He had a job waiting for him as a plasterer.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Mark Silk said: "This was an incredibly reckless and dangerous crime that endangered the lives of people sleeping in their homes.

"Fires can spread very quickly and easily – especially in flats – and it was extremely fortunate that nobody was seriously injured or killed. It only takes two to three intakes of smoke to cause a person to fall unconscious.

"Antony Matthews spared little thought for anyone’s safety when he drunkenly set light to a home for no apparent reason, and will now quite rightly serve time in prison as a result."