A teenager who found it impossible to live on her own set ablaze her council flat, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Katie Warner caused £3,000-worth of damage to her ground floor home in Austin Road, Bromsgrove.

She was looked after by a foster mother she loved for seven years but tried to become independent too early, said Brian Dean, defending.

She developed an alcohol problem and drank heavily to try to relieve her depression.

Warner, aged 19, pleaded guilty to arson while reckless whether lives were endangered and was given three years' detention.

The fire broke out in the block of flats on April 12 this year. Another resident saw smoke billowing from the defendant's bedroom window, said Pardeep Tiwana, prosecuting.

Warner, who called 999 to give a fire alert, handed her mobile to a neighbour who had heard her crying earlier. Though drunk, she managed to climb out of her flat and told firefighters she had set fire to newspapers on a sofa. She was unhappy and had no money or social life but she showed concern that her neighbours might have been injured if the fire had spread.

Mr Dean said: "This was not a deliberately wicked act but a demonstration of her inability to cope."

She seemed incapable of taking on the responsibility of living on her own at that age and actually welcomed a prison sentence. "She doesn't feel strong enough to go back into society," said Mr Dean. "Prison is the only place where she can get assistance. She has been dry of alcohol since being in custody awaiting sentence."

Judge Michael Mott said she had found it difficult to live her life and he felt sorry for her predicament. He added there was a gap in the services to help people with personality problems.