A 17 year old boy was in court after he pushed a lit firework through the letterbox of a family house.

Prosecutor Nita Dowell told Llandudno youth court how a young couple at home with their young child in Colwyn Bay, Conwy, were woken in the early hours of the morning by smoke and intruder alarms.

The youth admitted putting the firework through the door claiming it to be a prank. He told police he had been drinking at a party and had been setting fireworks off on a nearby mountainside with friends when he decided to put one through a letterbox.

The court heard how the young family’s home quickly set alight and when they awoke there was thick black smoke in the house’s front porch and the carpet, a telephone junction box, two umbrellas and plastic foot covers had set ablaze in the incident in April 2007.

The 17 year old admitted arson in court and was ordered to carry out 80 hours community service and observe a 9pm-7am curfew for the next six months. He was also ordered to pay £60 costs and to compensate the couple £250.

No-one was injured in the incident.