An arsonist who caused thousands of pounds of damage was ‘harbouring a resentment’ towards her former primary school.

Kymberley Charlotte Rowbotham, 23, set fire to recycling bins at All Saints Primary School in Clayton-le-Moors last summer.

She was found hiding in bushes with a lighter near the school after setting the blazes, which caused between £5,000 and £10,000 damage to the school.

Rowbotham – who was previously banned from the school grounds after setting fire to a window ledge there in 2010 – admitted two counts of arson.

She was spared jail by Judge Jonathan Gibson, who banned her from the school premises for five years and handed her a suspended sentence.

He said: “You have admitted your reason for having committed the offence, which appears to be deep rooted and related to your time at the school.”

Preston Crown Court heard how Rowbotham flagged down a passing driver and asked him to call the fire brigade after setting the fires on top of a wheelie bin and in a paper recycling bin on opposite sides of the school, in the early hours of August 5, 2013.

Smoke travelled along the flat roof of the single storey building to the kitchen area, the court heard.

Rowbotham, of Owen Court, Clayton-le-Moors – who has previous convictions for criminal damage – pleaded guilty to two counts of arson on the first day of a trial.

Mark Ford, defending, said Rowbotham is dealing with ‘both physical and mental’ problems but she had insisted on pleading guilty and felt genuine remorse.

He said the defendant had been ‘harbouring a resentment towards the school’ particularly when under the influence of drink, but was motivated to address her ‘profound problems’.

He said: “All her anger was directed at an inanimate object.”

Judge Gibson sentenced Rowbotham to 13 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with a two-year supervision order and a 12-month alcohol treatment requirement.

He suspended the sentence in this ‘exceptional case’ because Rowbotham displayed genuine remorse and had spent four-and-a-half months in custody.

He added: “There is a clear pattern of escalation to what you did.”

Rowbotham is also prevented by an anti social behaviour order from entering the grounds or premises of All Saints School for five years and must pay £250 compensation to the school.