Ex-cop faces jail for arson

Tracey Burt, 33, deliberately set fire to the cottage she and partner Jackie French shared in Spithurst Road in Barcombe.

Miss French, 36, escaped unhurt but was shocked to discover her lover had started the blaze.

She also un-covered a web of lies spun by Burt in order to steal a total of 23,000 from her during their four-year relationship.

This week the two women came face to face at Lewes Crown Court for the first time since the near-fatal fire three years ago.

In dramatic scenes, Burt, 33, broke down and sobbed in the dock as she apologised to her former lover who sat feet away in the public gallery.

She told her 'I just want to say I am very sorry for my actions and for the trouble you have been through since and any harm I have caused you and stress.

'I would not do anything to knowingly hurt you.

'I don't ask for forgiveness and I just ask you to accept my apology. If there was anything I could do to turn back time and rectify it I would.'

Burt also deceived a former boss who ran a private investigation company when she bought the business but failed to pay the full agreed price.

She was arrested following the fire on January 2, 2005, at Oaktree Farm Cottage in Barcombe which the couple had rented for nearly a year.

On the morning of the blaze Burt got up and told Ms French she was taking the dogs to Plumpton for a walk.

Ms French, a Home Office worker, was lying in bed when she heard a loud bang that shook the house.

She ran to the stairs but was unable to get to the ground floor because the stairs were engulfed in flames.

She returned to her bedroom and crawled onto the window ledge and shouted for help. Neighbour Anthony Julyan, a part-time fireman, then rescued her with a ladder.

Burt was arrested after fire investigators ruled out an accident and found evidence of petrol being poured onto the dining room table.

In interview police seized her wallet containing a receipt from the Offham Road petrol station for fuel costing 36.41 and dated the day of the fire.

Burt, now of Harpers Road, Newhaven, admitted arson while being reckless as to endangering life, four charges of theft and one count of deception.

Burt, a Sussex Police officer from 1996 to 2000, quit the force after being charged with falsehood and prevarication. She lied that her mother, brother and sister had all died.

Judge David Rennie adjourned sentencing for a psychiatric assessment but warned Burt she still faced going to jail.