A SERIAL arsonist who wreaked havoc in a community causing £1.5m damage has been warned he is facing life behind bars.

Stefan Geary, 31, destroyed two schools and a church in Jarrow, South Tyneside, in three weeks.

He broke into each property and used accelerant to start their fire - and would then watch as fire crews struggled to tackle the blaze.

Geary, of Ormond Street, Jarrow, would lie in wait for fire crews so he could watch them in action, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

He was eventually trapped when firefighters began recognising his face and DNA taken from a fire was matched to him. It was then that his long record of starting fires was revealed.

Geary was jailed for three years in 1995 after setting fire to a flat, and then jailed again in 1999 after setting alight three cars in a car park in Blackpool.

Geary pleaded guilty to three charges of arson yesterday but sentencing was adjourned for the preparation of psychiatric reports.

Judge Michael Cartlidge told him: "You have the potential to cause danger in the future and this court is looking to pass a life a sentence."