An arsonist who was caught on camera setting fire to her partner’s ex-wife’s home has been jailed

Chloe Shotton will spend Christmas behind bars after she was spotted on CCTV pushing a rag through a letterbox before setting it alight. Emergency crews were called to an address in North Shields in the early hours of July 31 after the occupant of the house awoke to find her fire alarms blaring and hall filled with smoke. Officers made quick work of investigating the start of the blaze – and were greatly assisted after the resident’s CCTV had recorded the culprit committing the offence. Shotton, 23, of Hartside Crescent, Backworth, was identified and arrested on suspicion of arson within 11 minutes of the 999 call. She was charged on the same day and remanded in custody. On Wednesday (December 22) she was sentenced to three-and-a-half years behind bars at Newcastle Crown Court after admitting arson with intent to endanger life. She was also handed a life-time restraining order preventing her from making contact with her victim. Detective Constable Callum Dixon, of Northumbria Police, led the investigation and welcomed Shotton’s custodial sentence. He said: “The excellent footage provided by the victim irrefutably proved Shotton was responsible for starting the fire, and that meant officers were able to arrest her within minutes of the 999 call coming in. “Her dangerous actions could easily have resulted in numerous fatalities. Shotton endangered the lives of those inside this property, including a child, as well as those in neighbouring properties. “I am therefore pleased that the severity of this offence has been recognised in this custodial term. “I would like to thank the victim in this case for keeping her cool during what must have been a very frightening ordeal and being able to quickly provide us with CCTV. “This allowed our officers to act quickly, ensuring that Shotton was swiftly tracked down and brought to justice for her crimes.”