Andrew Clark, 49, now faces spending the rest of his life behind bars after he admitted deliberately setting fire to a pub while the landlords were still inside.
At Northampton Crown Court, Judge Richard Bray said he was considering passing a sec
ond life sentence and described Clark's series of arson attacks as "a cry for help", from an institutionalised offender.
He said: "He likes prison so much, he set these fires and endangered the lives of others, for his own selfish ends so he could go back to prison.
"This is just another example of the attractiveness of prisons these days."
Clark, of Corn Hill, Pattishall, admitted setting fire to the hallway of The Brave Old Oak pub, Watling Street, on Sunday, February 18, endangering the lives of the landlords.
But on the same night, he also set fire to a wheelie bin, wooden gates, a door, a quantity of books near two homes, and The Pickled Pig pub, also in Watling Street, Towcester.
The court heard Clark was sentenced to life imprisonment at Burnley Crown Court in the early 1990s, serving eight-years' imprisonment for other arson attacks.
Released in 2005 on life licence, the serial arsonist settled in Pattishall, near Towcester.
The Home Office has now recalled Clark, who pleaded guilty to five arson charges, to prison.
Sentencing was adjourned until June for psychiatric reports.
Remanding him in custody, Judge Bray added: "We are in serious territory here."
The full article contains 278 words and appears in Northampton Chron & Echo newspaper.
