A man's attempts to start a fire at a petrol station could have had "devastating consequences".

Jason Wilson tried to set fire to fuel hoses at Malthurst Fuels in Bo'ness near Falkirk during the early hours of January 1.

The High Court in Edinburgh was told he was "extremely drunk" and at one point put a lit cigarette in a fuel nozzle.

A judge rejected Wilson's plea to spare him a custodial sentence and told him: "There is no doubt there was potential risk to the public."

Lord Brailsford said Wilson had written "eloquent" letters pleading for a non-custodial sentence.

The judge told him he would have jailed him for five and a half years for the offence but the sentence was reduced to three years and eight months due to his early guilty plea.

More than 68,000 litres of fuel were stored in underground tanks at the filling station where repeat offender Wilson carried out the crime, with homes and a large hotel nearby.

The 25-year-old tried unsuccessfully to ignite residual petrol in hoses at the pumps at the garage, which had closed for business and started a fire in a bin.

At one stage he returned to the premises smoking a cigarette and tried to insert it into one of the nozzles.

Advocate depute David Taylor told the High Court in Edinburgh: "Because of modern security equipment it is difficult to set fire to a petrol station with a lit cigarette or to set fire to the premises in such a way as to cause underground fuel reserves to be ignited.

"But had the fire taken hold and generated a significant blaze spreading to the forecourt canopy and each of the pumps, it could potentially have reached the underground tanks with devastating consequences."

The prosecutor said if gas cylinders at the site had been exposed to a rapid increase in heat or direct flames it could lead to an explosion, scattering hot metal debris over a large area.

He said: "Given the considerable amount of combustible materials present - petrol, diesel, gas cylinders, firelighters, BBQ lighter fluid, paraffin - such a fire would have caused nearby properties to be threatened by fire spread, smoke and toxic fumes and a danger of explosion and the need for evacuation."

The advocate depute added: "Any firefighter called to deal with any conflagration which had arisen from such an incident would themselves have been exposed to considerable risk."

Unemployed Wilson was caught on CCTV footage walking around the petrol pumps and trying to empty them on the ground.

Mr Taylor said: "Throughout the incident the accused appeared extremely drunk, having difficulty walking and maintaining his footing."

Wilson admitted culpable and reckless conduct by placing a fuel nozzle in a bin and deliberately setting fire to the bin, putting a lit cigarette in a nozzle and pushing over a cage containing gas canisters to the danger of the public.

Wilson, of no fixed abode, has previously been jailed for culpable and reckless conduct for throwing a four-year-old boy out of a window and for fire-raising.

Defence counsel Derick Nelson said: "The most likely scenario is he could have set himself on fire.

"He finds it difficult to understand what he has done."

Mr Nelson added Wilson had fallen out with a friend he had been staying, was drunk and felt "helpless and homeless".

He said Wilson had been diagnosed with a bipolar disorder and suffered from mood swings.