Alleged fire attack dad may fight charges

A Perth father accused of setting his daughter on fire may plead not guilty on insanity grounds, a court has heard.

Edward John Herbert allegedly set fire to the three-year-old and doused her seven-year-old sister and six-year-old brother in a flammable liquid at the family's Doubleview home in August.

His lawyer Mara Barone told the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Monday that she was awaiting psychiatric reports to determine whether her client would fight the charges on the grounds he was insane at the time.