Naked OAP high on 'monkey dust' goes on rampage causing £100,000 worth of destruction

A 71-year-old man has been jailed for going on a naked rampage that caused £100,000 in damage after taking the banned 'monkey dust'.

Walter Harrison was in the nude when he began shouting, throwing things, and banging on neighbours' doors in Leek, before setting fire to his bungalow. The blaze caused "extensive fire and smoke damage" to the living room, bedroom and hallway of the , meaning it will need to re-gutted and rebuilt from inside at the cost of £100,000. Harrison - who has 23 for 53 offences - was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to arson with intent to endanger life.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that Harrison is now homeless and had taken the synthetic psychoactive substance MDPV ('monkey dust') at the time of the offence, reports .

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Emily Andrews, prosecuting, said: "A phone call was made by a neighbour on August 17 after the defendant tried her door during the early hours of the morning. Mr Harrison was naked outside her address, he was shouting oddities, and he was throwing objects around the garden.

"The neighbour saw smoke and the defendant said things about babies and other things she couldn't make sense of. He was with his dog, Axel, and the RSPCA collected him unharmed from the police station the next day.

"The fire started to spread into other rooms. Its origin was combustible materials located on the double bed including the duvet, pillows, and mattress. The flame was introduced by human interaction.

"The defendant was arrested, but he was not interviewed because there were concerns of smoke inhalation and he was taken to hospital."

Barry White, mitigating, said: "Mr Harrison was not in the right place at that time.

"He has spent much of his life in prison. He's had no proper education apart from that in prisons. Stress caused by his life in general, it is not an easy life, led him to live much of it in prison.

"He is sorry for what happened and appreciates the damage he caused and the risks he posed. He knows today will be prison, perhaps this is a second home to him, but I would ask his sentence to be as short as possible."

Harrison pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life.

Judge Trevor Meegan said: "In the early hours you stood outside your home address, you were screaming and displaying erratic behaviour, and you were naked. You attempted to gain access to your neighbours' houses by banging on doors and trying handles.

"This is a street of old people's bungalows at a retirement stage in their life - your property was such with one bedroom - you used a lighter and I'm quite satisfied that's how you set fire to your bed.

"The fire spread and photos show extensive fire and smoke damage to the living room, bedroom and hallway - in summary it will all have to be re-gutted and rebuilt from inside. There's around £100,000 worth of damage - that is a loss for the community, a loss of houses for elderly people, which are in need."