Shearer jailed for fireball attack on boss

A shearer who doused his boss in diesel fuel as he slept then used a burning broomstick to send a fireball into his caravan cabin has been jailed for five years and four months.

David Scott, 32, was working for Anthony Charles Wray at a property in Kalannie in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region in July last year and was being accommodated in the cabin next to his employer when he committed the crime.

District Court of WA Judge David Parry described the offending as bizarre and potentially catastrophic for Mr Wray, who jumped to his feet after being doused and was hit in the chest with a fireball before fleeing the cabin.

He looked back as he ran and saw Scott standing near the caravan, holding the broomstick, which was still alight.

"You looked at him and said nothing," Judge Parry said.

Scott had not been drinking and his only explanation was that Mr Wray had made unwanted homosexual advances towards him.

"The jury obviously did not accept your version of events," the judge said.

Scott will be eligible for parole.