A TEENAGER deliberately started a fire which forced a family to flee from their home then stood and watched as it was tackled by firefighters, a court heard.

David Hewitson, 17, had been seen minutes earlier running from the property in Hershall Drive, Middlesbrough.

Teesside Crown Court heard that he started the fire in an outbuilding attached to the back of the house which then spread into the kitchen and through the ground floor.

Sisters Charlotte and Emma Wilkinson were in the house at that point along with their ten-year-old brother, Stephen, who had been asleep upstairs.

Brian Hurst, prosecuting, said that on March 20 Hewitson had been hanging around the house with another youth causing a nuisance and at one stage had barged inside demanding drink and cigarettes.

Shortly after midnight the sound of an explosion was heard coming from the back of the house.

Emma Wilkinson then went outside and recognised Mr Hewitson - who she knew as "Noodle" - as he ran past her from the side of the house.

Mr Hurst said that Mr Hewitson was seen watching on as the blaze took hold to "see the thrill" of the fire brigade and police arriving at the scene.

He said investigations had revealed the fire had been started possibly with petrol or something similar, while lighters had also been found in the garden of the house.

Cross examining Emma Wilkinson, Paul Newcombe, for Mr Hewitson, said she had made a mistake in identifying his client after only catching a fleeting glimpse of him as he ran past her.

Mr Hewitson, of Hershall Drive, denies arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

The trial continues.