A PENRITH man has pleaded guilty to an arson offence which involved him being  “reckless” of whether life would be endangered.

At Carlisle Crown Court, Eren Zihni  pleaded guilty to that arson allegation, which came after a fire at his own flat in Carleton Road, Penrith, on March 18. The charge states that the defendant at the time reckless about the potential damage to both the property and persons.

According to court papers, the property involved belongs to the My Space housing group.

Zihni also pleaded guilty to a second offence of affray, when he used or threatened unlawful violence, which would have caused a person of reasonable firmness to fear for their safety.

That offence was also committed in March.

Both the prosecution and the defence barristers in the case accepted that there needed to be background reports before the defendant can be sentence.

This will include a psychiatric assessment of the defendant.

Recorder Ian Unsworth QC said that both the pre-sentence Probation Service report and the psychiatric assessment should address the issue of whether or not the defendant was a dangerous offender.

Adjourning the sentencing hearing until August 5, the judge told Zihni: “This is a very serious matter and the court needs all of that information before it passes sentence.”

He remanded the defendant in custody.

In court, the prosecution was represented by barrister Tim Evans and the defence lawyer was Jeff Smith.