Lewis Connor, 27, used five jerry cans filled with petrol to substantially damage a house in Dennyloanhead, near Falkirk, which was undergoing restoration.

Two days later, a business property in Hamilton was set alight by two other men acting alongside Connor.

Connor, of Glasgow, was sentenced at Hamilton Sheriff Court after being found guilty of two charges of wilful fireraising.

He was also convicted of a further charge of conspiring to set fire to various properties and vehicles in Falkirk, Airdrie, Blantyre and Glasgow.

The jury earlier heard how Connor had monitored the house in Dennyloanhead while its owner was carrying out refurbishments sleeping in a nearby garage.

On May 9, 2020, Connor entered the property and set various rooms of the ground floor alight using five jerry cans filled with petrol.

An encrypted mobile message on the Encrochat platform used by criminals which the jury accepted was sent by Connor said: “It was like Blackpool illuminations when I left.”

Sineidin Corrins, depute procurator fiscal for serious casework at the Crown Office, said: “These were highly dangerous crimes which caused widespread damage to private properties.

“Lewis Connor boasted of his exploits and enlisted others to carry out similar crimes on his behalf. But he will now pay for those crimes by serving a lengthy term of imprisonment.”