THUGS poured petrol into OAP Jim Boddington's home in Cinderford and set it alight as he slept inside.

An explosion shortly after midnight woke the disabled 69-year-old, who peered out of his bedroom to find the hallway and kitchen of his bungalow ablaze.

The yobs poured petrol through the letter box and through a catflap into the kitchen which blocked any way to escape from his home.

Jim, who lives in Peacock Lane, hung out of his bedroom window and called 999 as thick black smoke flooded his bungalow.

When they arrived, police officers had to throw a paving slab through the large double-glazed bedroom window in order to pull Jim to safety.

"Someone tried to murder me," said Jim, a former chauffeur and coach driver.

"The only thing that saved me was that I closed my bedroom door that night, which I never normally do, because I have an ice-free freezer which makes a fair bit of noise.

"I had a headache that night so I took a sleeping tablet and went to bed."

Jim has had to move into a camper van he owns while going through the insurance claim process.

"A friend offered me a place to stay ut I couldn't sleep there," he said.

"After what happened it felt claustrophobic being in a house.

"I'm happier sleeping in my camper van for the time being – it feels safer.

"I moved here from London four years ago for the quiet life, or at least that's what I thought."

Jim raised the alarm at 12.20am on Sunday, and he was checked at the scene by paramedics and taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital as a precaution.

The fire service extinguished the blaze and conducted a fire investigation.

Police are treating the fire as arson and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

Cinderford Detective Sergeant Mark Stenhouse said: "Officers have completed house-to-house calls on people in the vicinity and forensic inquiries are ongoing.

"We would now appeal to people in the area to come forward if they saw suspicious activity in the area on Saturday night or the early hours of Sunday morning."

Anyone with information should call Gloucestershire Police on 0845 090 1234, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting incident 15 of March 27.