Christopher Nicol was told by Sheriff Charles Macnair in Cupar on Tuesday that he must stay in Lynebank Hospital for six months but that it would be at least two years before he would no longer be considered a danger to the public.
The sheriff sa
id it wasn't necessary for him to issue a restriction order because he was satisfied that there were systems in place that would ensure Nicol would remain in hospital until the risk had been managed.
However, he also placed him on the sex offenders' register for seven years as the result of a 'peeping Tom' incident in which he had committed a breach of the peace by standing outside an open bathroom window while a pregnant woman was showering.
An earlier court hearing had been told how 23-year-old Nicol was already on two probation orders for wilful fire-raising when he set fire to a teddy lying in a pile of items destined for a car boot sale on May 24 last year.
The fire took hold and two occupants of the flats at 19 East Green, Anstruther, had to be rescued by the fire service after their only means of escape was cut off by thick black smoke.
Nicol had been remanded in custody after the court heard that the residents had 'feared for their lives', but he made a further appearance last Thursday, when he was made subject to an interim compulsion order and taken to Lynebank while arrangements were made for psychiatric evidence to be heard.
On Tuesday two psychiatrists from the state hospital at Carstairs confirmed that Nicol had learning disabilities and would require a hospital stay of at least two years to address his behaviour.
Nicol, whose address was given as c/o 15 Waggon Road, Pittenweem, had also previously admitted setting fire to boxes at James Melville Manse, Anstruther, on April 24, 2007, and setting fire to household rubbish to the rear of the Salutation Bar, Anstruther, on December 2, 2007.
At Tuesday's hearing Sheriff Macnair revoked Nicol's existing probation orders and admonished him on a further charge of breaching bail conditions.
