A father-of-two has admitted torching House of Reeves, destroying the 150-year-old building.

Gordon Thompson initially denied setting alight the historic Croydon landmark but today at the Old Bailey he pleaded guilty to arson.

The court had previously heard from prosecutor Oliver Glasgow how Thompson, 33, had used a borrowed light to set fire to a sofa in the furniture shop on August 8 as riots swept across the capital.

The blaze was “devastating”, gutting the building which had survived two World Wars, and spreading to neighbouring properties.

Among those was the flat which Monica Konczyk lived in, and the image of her leaping to safety from the burning building became an iconic photo of the civil unrest.

Mr Glasgow described Thompson setting fire to the sofa as a “callous and vindictive act” and one of “cynical cowardice”.

Thompson, from Waddon Road, had even boasted about torching the shop, with a witness describing how he ran past saying “it was me, I did that, I burned Reeves Corner”.

He had gone on a looting spree before his act of arson destroyed a piece of local history.

The painter and decorator had been snapped by freelance photographer Greg McDonald coming out of Iceland in Surrey Street laden with a box full of bottles.

He then joined others ransacking House of Fraser in Centrale, helping fellow looters into the store by lifting up the security grill.

Footage from CCTV cameras in the shopping centre showed him directing other looters into the store in an act of "incredible arrogance"

Prosecuting, Oliver Glasgow said: "The footage of this is truly shocking.

"The mere idea that a mob could descend upon a shopping centre in broad daylight force their way inside terrify the security staff and leave with armfuls of stolen goods is astonishing. The reality is even more incredible.

"The brazen dishonesty that he and others who left centrale with armfuls of stolen items displayed can only be described as appalling."

Thompson had also swiped a laptop computer from House of Reeves as looters smashed the windows and took all they could from the building.

The prosecution offered no evidence to other charges including violent disorder and a more serious charge of arson with intent to endanger life following his guilty plea.