A teenager has been found guilty of arson after a court heard how he deliberately set fire to his home in Stanwell while his family were asleep.

The jury heard how the kitchen was covered in white spirit which the boy, who cannot be named, had bought from a local store the previous day.

Police investigators discovered the fire was deliberately started by setting light to a laundry bin and some newspapers in the kitchen.

He went to his room at 11pm on Friday, January 27, leaving his mum and her partner in the living room, the court heard.

Shortly after 1am the fire alarm sounded as the house filled with smoke. The boy's older brother rushed into the kitchen to tackle the blaze, shouting "get up, there's a fire".

Alexander Williams, prosecuting, said: "With a bowl of water and a wet towel, the brother put out the flames with the assistance of the defendant."

Police were called and the defendant was arrested on suspicion of arson. Traces of white spirit were found by forensic scientists on his clothing.

The jury heard that when the fire alarm stopped, the defendant comforted his mother when she burst into tears.

The boy's mother said: "Afterwards I didn't go completely into the kitchen because there was a substance all over the floor and a smell which we thought was parafin."

She later found two empty 500ml bottles of white spirit in the bin.

A shopkeeper identified the youth as having bought the two bottles the previous day.

The defendant told the court he had bought the bottles of white spirit because he was going to use them to finish decorating his bedroom.

The court heard how a wooden board was covering a broken kitchen window at the house in Stanwell, after it was burgled and vandalised in June and November last year.

The boy's mother said the first thing she noticed when she went into the kitchen after the fire was the board had been removed.

James Smith, defending, said: "This board was not covering the window after the fire, and the only way to remove it was from the outside."

The defendant received a previous warning for arson in March 2004 at the old post office in Stanwell High Street, causing considerable damage to the property.

He was found guilty of arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered and will be sentenced on Friday, August 25.

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