Two friends torched a young family’s home as they slept, a court heard.

The pals had earlier warned the father: “Your wife, dead. Your kids, dead. Everybody dead.”

Jibrin Usman, 26, of Marsham Street, Maidstone, allegedly helped Daniel Chambers, 29, to pour petrol through the front door of the home in Essex, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

The family had to jump out of windows after waking at 3am to find the house on fire.

Chambers has admitted starting the fire with intent to endanger the lives of all six residents while Usman denied the allegation, along with another charge of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Chambers, of Cannington Road, Dagenham and Usman were caught on CCTV stealing petrol a few hours before the fire started at Polish national Roger Bisek’s home in Dagenham, the hearing heard.

Brian Reece, prosecuting, said: “Having got the petrol just before midnight, they waited until about three o’clock.

“By three o’clock they could be fairly sure that whoever was in the house would be asleep.”

The trial continues.