Arsonists pushed two wheelie bins against the only exit from the first floor flat in Reigate Walk, Corby, and set fire to them at 2.30am yesterday.

The fire came just two days after an elderly couple had to jump from a first floor window to escape a blaze in Orkney Walk in Corby.

Firefighters used ladders to reach the balcony and led the couple and the woman's 17-year-old daughter out through their smoke-filled flat.

The 34-year-old bride-to-be, who did not want to be named, said: "I was lying here and I smelt smoke. I went to the top of the stairs and I saw flames coming through the door."

The couple are planning to marry in three months.

The doors of an outhouse a few metres away were destroyed by fire a couple of weeks ago and nextdoor neighbour Lynn Simpson, 49, said arsonists had targeted her front door three or four years ago.

She said: "It worries you. There are druggies and kids hanging out there all the time. It gets worse and worse."

John Kirkland, 51, of nearby Lingfield Walk, said: "It's a total disgrace. People could quite easily have been killed. There's only one way in and out of the flats."

Station manager Adey Mitchell, said: "Without over dramatising it, there was a risk of injury. It was quite lucky they were awake. The fumes off a wheelie bin are quite toxic. If the person had had the door open or had been on medication to help them sleep it could have been a different story."

Station manager Mitchell said: "The opportune arsonist must realise the potential for harm. The potential outcome of what they think is a simple laugh and giggle is horrendous."