A BITTER Brierley Hill businessman arranged to have a car belonging to his former girlfriend firebombed to "get back at her" after their relationship broke down, a court heard.

Robert McNaughton was "driven by resentment" and recruited two men to carry out frightening attacks on the Halesowen home of Sharron McCann - Peter Arnold, prosecuting at Wolverhampton Crown Court, alleged.

He said windows in the Hopwood Close property were shattered, windows in parked cars were smashed and red paint was thrown over vehicles and against the front door of the house.

The unpleasant string of attacks ended with the firebomb exploding inside the Vauxhall Corsa which was completely destroyed and flames then spread to the front door, said Mr Arnold.

Fortunately the people inside the house were alert after the other attacks and were able to escape and call the emergency services.

The firebomb completely destroyed the car which was reduced to a metal frame and one could only imagine what might have happened if it had been thrown in the early hours instead of late evening, added Mr Arnold.

He alleged McNaughton, who ran his own recycling business and drove a car with a personalised plate, was "determined" to get back at Miss McCann after they fell out.

"The prosecution say he took it very badly," he went on. "She wanted to walk away but he did not and he resented what had happened."

Mr Arnold claimed McNaughton sent her a number of nasty text messages and also created a false Facebook account in her name to cause embarrassment.

The resentment escalated, he told the jury, and McNaughton recruited Matthew Barker who in turn brought in Joden Smith and they started carrying out the series of frightening attacks on her property.

Mr Arnold said the attacks were often carried out at night and he added: "It was nasty stuff carried out time after time after time."

He said 42-year-old Barker and 20-year-old Smith, both from Leicester, had already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal damage but it was the task of the jury to see if McNaughton was behind the attacks.

McNaughton, of Tenter Drive, Halesowen, did not get his hands dirty during the campaign against the former girlfriend but he alleged there was significant evidence linking him with the plot against his ex-partner.

There was a great deal of telephone contact between McNaughton and Barker, said Mr Arnold, and it came after the attacks when he was getting in touch to see if all went well.

He said tyres on vehicles parked outside Miss McCann's home were also punctured during the campaign with front windows being smashed in the house during daylight hours.

McNaughton was arrested when he was seen to link up with Barker at a restaurant in Hagley Road when, claimed Mr Arnold, they were meeting to discuss the attacks.

Mr Arnold said McNaughton then needed a back-up story and he maintained he had not been involved in what went on but blamed Romanians who had fallen out with a member of the family.

A telephone call was also made to the house by someone pretending to be Romanian in which threats were made but this was a "fanciful" story by McNaughton to cover his tracks.

McNaughton had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to cause criminal damage and his trial, which is expected to last for five days, continues.