A WOMAN who set fire to her own flat in a pagan ritual that went wrong has been jailed for three years.

Patricia Swift caused £50,000 damage at her Cherwell Housing Association-owned home in Iffley Road.

The 50-year-old admitted arson with recklessness endangering life at an earlier hearing at Oxford Crown Court.

Rose Wallace, who lives above Swift, was trapped in her flat for 40 minutes after she smelt smoke coming from her neighbour's home on November 21, said Peter Coombe, prosecuting.

He said Miss Wallace had been the victim of a five-year hate campaign, with Swift spitting at her, pushing a lighter through her door and leaving wood outside her flat.

He added on the afternoon of the fire three days before Swift was due to be evicted Miss Wallace heard her shout "burn, fat cow, burn".

She tried to escape but the communal hallway was too smoky, and she was eventually rescued by police and treated for smoke inhalation at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

When questioned by police, Swift first said she had started the fire to burn her things as she was being evicted.

After she was arrested, she said she did it to keep warm, before finally claiming she was performing a spell, said Mr Coombe.

He said: "It was a pagan ritual that went wrong. At the police station she said a man had been trying to kill her for years and she wanted to get rid of him. She put all the things he had given her into a pile and set them on fire."

Sangita Modgil, defending, said: "She in no way meant to cause any hurt to anyone."

She added that her client had an alcohol and drugs problem, but she denied shouting "burn, fat cow, burn".