A drunk woman set fire to her mother's home, forcing her boyfriend to jump naked from the window after he got trapped in a first-floor bedroom.

• Catrina Fitzgerald, 25, set fire to her mother's home in Birmingham
• Her boyfriend Wesley McDonnell was forced to jump out of the window
• Fitzgerald has been jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to arson 

Catrina Fitzgerald, 25, started the blaze with a cigarette after celebrating her boyfriend Wesley McDonnell's birthday at home in Birmingham.

When the fire started to rage out of control, she ran to raise the alarm with neighbours and shouted at her lover to get out of the house.

Jailed: Catrina Fitzgerald, pictured left in a social media picture and right in a police mugshot,

Danger: Wesley McDonnell, right, could have died after Fitzgerald, left, set fire to her house with a cigarette

Fitzgerald has been jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to arson at Birmingham Crown Court, with a charge of attempted murder being dropped.

Judge Phillip Parker QC said: 'Fortunately for you your partner, who was asleep upstairs, heard you shouting for him to wake up, but the fire had taken hold.

'He managed to escape naked by jumping from the first floor of the house.

'The fire was started by your reckless discarding of a cigarette. Nonetheless your behaviour in this case was still significantly blameworthy.

'You have been abusing drugs and alcohol. That has lead to you being unstable. If you drink you are likely to behave in a reckless way.

'You quite deliberately got yourself in a condition when you became a liability and a danger, albeit to someone you loved.'

Damage: Mr McDonnell had to jump out of a first-floor window during the blaze in January this year

Desolate: The house is still boarded up eight months after the fire for which Fitzgerald has been jailed

The judge said that despite the couple's 'volatile' relationship, Fitzgerald had not meant to harm Mr McDonnell.

Earlier the court heard that Fitzgerald set fire to the house, which she shared with her mother, on January 12 this year.

Mr McDonnell suffered minor injuries when he jumped from a first-floor window while he wasn't wearing any clothes.

The damage to the house, which is still boarded up, was estimated at £30,000.

John Butterfield, defending, said Fitzgerald and Mr McConnell had been celebrating his birthday when the blaze started.

Glamorous: But Fitzgerald has a history of drug and alcohol abuse, Birmingham Crown Court was told

Home: Fitzgerald lived in the house in Birmingham with her mother, who has now had to move elsewhere

He said: 'Once she spotted the fire she did her best to wake and rouse Mr McDonnell. When she could not, she raised the alarm with neighbours and tried to secure his release from danger.

'She has hurt the two people she cares about the most - her mother, who had to move house, and her partner.

'She has paid a price herself because she effectively destroyed her own home. You cannot get more stark than that.'

He added that Mr McDonnell was still in love with Fitzgerald.

Speaking after Fitzgerald was jailed, a neighbour said: ''She had a reputation for being hot-headed.

'She was a good-looking girl but had a hell of a temper. It wasn't uncommon to hear shouting and screaming coming from the house and she would often storm out.

'Hopefully being sent to prison will help her get the help she needs. The fire could so easily have been fatal.'