A MAN with a drink problem who set fire to his flat because he believed people were coming to get him has failed to overturn his potentially life-long jail term.

Leslie Devereux, of Winston Road, Hereford, pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court in March this year to arson reckless as to whether life was endangered.

He was given an indefinite term of imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), which works in a similar way to a life sentence in that those serving them can only be released when they can persuade the authorities they are no longer a threat to the public. They are imposed when judges believe there is a future risk of serous harm to the public and Devereux was ordered to serve at least three years before applying for parole.

His legal team has argued that he was not a true danger and he had begun the fire because of hallucinations he was suffering due to his withdrawal from alcohol.

However, describing his behaviour as "entirely unpredictable", Judge Chapman, sitting at the Court of Appeal with Lady Justice Smith and Mr Justice David Clarke, said there was confusion as to how the fire began as one of Devereux's neighbours gave evidence that he had been drinking.

The judge also said Devereux was in a "fragile mental state" and there was "ample material" which suggested he did pose a risk.

Judge Chapman said Devereux, a depressed and lonely alcoholic, began the fire on November 14, 2005 and the building he lived in had to be evacuated.

The blaze caused about £200,000 of damage and one couple in a nearby flat lost £10,000 worth of personal possessions.

Before he set the fire, Devereux called the emergency services and asked them to rescue him from people he believed were coming to get him.

He pleaded guilty on the basis that he rolled up a newspaper and put it in a bottle and then lit it in a bid to ward off what he believed were intruders in his flat.

Judge Chapman said Devereux, an alcoholic for 40 years, was suffering hallucinations either because of his drinking or, as he claimed, due to the fact he had been abstaining for a few days before the incident.