KEY POINTS:
A Gisborne woman who set fire to her disabled neighbour's wheelchair ramp was today jailed for three years.
Irene Daphne Watson, 45, a sickness beneficiary, was sentenced in Wellington District Court after earlier admitting arson endangering life.
In December last year, Watson moved into a flat in Gisborne, next door to the disabled women.
The woman loaned Watson her spare wheelchair after she said she had a lumbar spine injury and could not walk, Crown prosecutor Kate Feltham said.
When the neighbour later saw Watson walking around in her home she asked for the return of her wheelchair.
Watson then became verbally abusive and threatened to murder her.
The next morning, the neighbour was awakened by smoke alarms and discovered her wheelchair ramp was on fire.
Ms Feltham said although the target had been the wheelchair ramp, the fire could have spread and the consequences could have been "tragic".
She said the neighbour was vulnerable because she was a paraplegic - the ramp was the entrance and exit to her home.
Ms Feltham asked for a starting point of six years in jail.
Defence lawyer Nicola Wright said Watson had significant mental health difficulties.
She struggled to cope with day to day life - especially disputes with neighbours and could not recall the incident.
Judge Bruce Davidson said Watson had a number of complex issues.
Until she controlled and addressed these issues she would be at risk of offending again.
It was "clear you have had a troubled and difficult life", Judge Davidson told Watson.
- NZPA
