The owner of flats where two young jockeys died in an arson attack has been jailed for a year, after a judge said he showed “complete disregard” for residents’ safety.

Sentencing Alan Foster at Leeds Crown Court yesterday, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said the case involved “deeply disturbing” and obvious safety breaches.

Jamie Kyne, 18 and Jan Wilson, 19, were trapped in a second floor flat at Buckrose Court in Norton, when former caretaker Peter Brown set fire to rubbish stored beneath a stairwell after being refused entry to a party.

Judge Marson said that the fire in 2009 resulted from the unlawful actions of Brown, who was later jailed for manslaughter, but Foster’s culpability was high.

He said the victims’ deaths “would have been significantly less likely but for these breaches.”

Foster was aware of the rubbish, which included furniture and tins of paint and wood treatment, since most of it was his and a resident had complained.

“It would have been perfectly obvious to you that there was a clear risk that if this rubbish caught fire, the consequences for those in the flats, particularly those upstairs, would be very serious,” said the judge.

Inspection of neighbouring flats revealed no fire-fighting equipment in the stairs or communal area, no signage of what to do in case of a fire and red protective covers on smoke detectors which should have been removed.

A prohibition notice was served on Foster on September 8 involving the flats unaffected by the fire and by October 15 he had done nothing about the deficiencies.

Fire officers visited the nearby Buckrose House, which was being converted to 12 flats. Again Foster had carried out no risk assessment. When officers visited Buckrose House again in August 2011, further deficiencies were discovered.

Judge Marson said Foster was unwilling to ensure residents’ safety, partly as he was reluctant to bear the “relatively modest expense”. Foster, 65, who lived in a cottage at Buckrose Court, admitted two charges of failing to take reasonable fire precautions and two of failing to make a risk assessment.

Sailesh Mehta, prosecuting, said Foster was the responsible person for ensuring fire safety regulations, but appeared not to have given thought to them.

Philip Standfast, for Foster, said he had never intended to become a landlord.

It had been planned to sell all the flats but the property crash in 2008 meant that did not happen.

He found himself having to rent out the properties and realised he should have sought further advice.

He was financially ruined, now over £1million in debt on the properties and on paper “bankrupt.”

After the case Jan’s mother, Margaret Wilson, of Forfar, in Scotland, said: “It was basic housekeeping.

“It doesn’t take much just to tidy up a stairwell.

“Two lives are lost and we have to live with that. Nothing can bring them back.”

Jamie’s mother, Madeline Cosgrove-Kyne, said they were happy with the sentence and paid tribute to the fire officers for their investigation.

Two of those officers, Station Managers David Watson and Roy Ashman, were commended by the judge.

Area Manager David McCabe, of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The case has been difficult for the fire service but it has been even more difficult for the parents and families of Jan Wilson and Jamie Kyne.”