Natasha Beth Crossman, 36, was last week jailed for two years and 11 months after pleading guilty to damaging property by fire in the Armidale District Court.

However, she will serve just nine months before being eligible for parole in December.

Crossman was jailed after pleading guilty in November to the charge of damaging property by fire on the second day of what was expected to be a three-week trial.

The charge related to an incident when Colin Crossman was asleep in bed at about 4am on January 17, 2009, and he woke up because he felt a blow to the temple.

When he questioned his wife, she referred to having a seen a shadow or a figure in the house, giving chase and seeing the figure jump over the back fence.

The garage door had been interfered with, and Mr Crossman told police a hammer was missing.

It was later found in a cupboard in the house and subjected to forensic testing, but there was no evidence to link it with the attack on Mr Crossman.

Three days later, at 4am on January 20, there was a fire at the house.

A neighbour was woken by Crossman at the front door holding her son and yelling that the house was on fire.

They went into the home, found Mr Crossman and took him out.

The court was told the fire was deliberately lit and started near the bed in the main bedroom.

A container in which people would normally store petrol was found in the room, but without a lid, which was found in a different location.

The trial was also told petrol or some other flammable liquid had been located in carpet samples.

Crossman told detectives she had been in bed with her husband when she was woken by the fire alarm.

She shook him and tried to wake him up before throwing some clothes on the flames, and had then tripped over the petrol can.

Crossman said she believed her husband was following her but, realising he was not out, went back to help.

The sentence for Crossman also took into account charges of public mischief, assault, conveying false information and two of fraud, relating to incidents in which she tried to sell stolen padlocks over the internet, and stealing a chequebook belong to Shari-Lea Hitchcock, the former mistress of billionaire Richard Pratt, during a pony club event.

However Crossman’s legal battles are not yet over.

She is due back in Armidale Local Court next week to face charges of destroying or damaging by fire with intent to murder, destroying or damaging property with intent to endanger life, using the post or similar to threaten to cause harm, and making false representations.