Accused arsonist ‘couldn’t stand other care home residents’

A 72-year-old woman torched her care home because she ‘couldn’t stand’ the other people inside, a court heard. Margaret Jakobson, who suffers mental health problems, allegedly set fire to a clotheshorse at West Ham House in Plaistow, east London, on 2 May. The pensioner appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court supported by a walking stick as she was charged with arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered. Emergency services arrived and were tending to Jakobson when she allegedly told…