A WORCESTER woman had a row with her partner of 19 years before setting fire to clothing in his flat the moment his back was turned, a court heard.

Robina Milne poured turpentine into a laundry basket and set it on fire, said Samantha Crabb, prosecuting at Worcester Crown Court.

The flat rapidly filled with smoke and the fire brigade had to deal with the blaze.

Milne, aged 37, of Comer Gardens, St John's, admitted arson and was made the subject of a three-year community rehabilitation order.

Judge John Cavell said he was able to impose a non-custodial sentence in the context of the damage and background of the case.

Any risk she posed in future would be better dealt with by a comprehensive programme attached to the order.

Milne had gone by taxi at 3.15am on Sunday, November 12, last year, to confront Daniel Lord, with whom she had had a 19-year relationship and two children.

There was a disturbance during which she smashed a window and suffered a cut which later needed hospital treatment.

Mr Lord left the flat to ask the taxi driver to call the police. When he returned, the flat was full of smoke.

When police arrived, Milne told them to get inside quickly as she had started a fire. Mr Lord managed to drag the burning laundry basket outside, where firefighters put out the flames.

Milne was treated in hospital for a cut hand.

She told police she had taken a mixture of sleeping pills, painkillers and anxiety tablets. She could remember little of the incident.