A DUDLEY drug addict burned down a shed belonging to a relative of his former partner after she told him she was expecting another man's baby.

Timothy Little had only been back on the streets for a few hours after being released from prison when he was told by his ex-partner she had moved on.

Despite the fact their relationship had been over for several years, Little used an accelerant to set fire to her grandmother's shed destroying its contents valued at hundreds of pounds.

Then the the 36-year-old, went on to the Dudley home of his ex-partner's sister and scrawled foot high slogans on every panel of her car causing over £400 damage.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court, Judge Michael Challinor, said: "The arson was a revenge attack and the victims had to watch the conflagration.

"It was very frightening and it deeply affected them when they discovered just who was responsible."

Little, who had 113 previous convictions on his criminal record, also raided a shop, a restaurant and a house during a mini crime spree in the Dudley area.

He stole £300 worth of electrical equipment from the Ryman Stationery branch in Dudley High Street before smashing a window to get into the Old Glasshouse restaurant in nearby Priory Street only to leave empty handed.

But he was quickly tracked down for the attack when he was traced by DNA testing after leaving behind a bloodstain, said Amanda O'Mara prosecuting.

She told the court Little smashed a window to get into the house in Watson Green Road, Kates Hill and got away with an envelope containing £400 cash - money to be used by the occupant's sister to change into dollars.

Little, now of no fixed address, was sentenced to five years in jail in his absence by the judge after opting not to attend the court. He admitted charges arson and burglary.

Jason Pegg, for Little, said his client began drinking heavily after learning his former partner of eight years was pregnant with another man's child and he had little recollection of the events that followed.