A PSYCHIATRIC patient who set light to a waste bin and plagued the police with abusive calls has been told he will go to jail unless he stops being a public nuisance.
Martin Fox-Cooper had only been out of prison for a few months when he carried out both offences on April 13 this year outside a Tesco store in Paignton.
He was drunk and upset at the treatment he was receiving for a personal disorder and took out his anger on the waste bin, which set alight repeatedly until it caught fire.
Police arrested him but as soon as he was released he made a string of calls over the next four days in which he ranted abuse down the phone at call handlers.
He has a history of getting himself arrested to draw attention to his mental illness and just finished a six month sentence for carrying knives in Kingsteignton and Teignmouth.
Fox-Cooper, aged 45, of Longford Lane, Kingsteignton, admitted arson and the persistent use of public communications to cause annoyance and was jailed for eight months, suspended for a year by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.
He told him he is danger of becoming a persistent public nuisance and would go to jail if he reoffends in any way.
He told him:"You have mental health difficulties but your personality disorder is aggravated by your voluntary use of alcohol. If you reoffend while under this order, the overwhelming likelihood is that I will activate the sentence."
Mr Gareth Evans, prosecuting, said police and firefighters were called to an incident outside Tesco in Paignton on the evening of April 13 where Fox-Cooper made repeated attempts to set light to the bin.
He eventually started a fire in the metal container inside it which spread to the plastic shell and caused £300 damage.
He went on to make a stream of abusive calls complaining about his arrest by the police.
Miss Emily Pitts, defending, said all Fox-Cooper’s offending arises from his mental problems but he is now receiving help and is living in more stable circumstances with a new and supportive partner. He is now willing to address his drinking.