Jean-Paul Moreau, who a psychiatrist described as slightly mentally retarded, said he had wanted to "attract the world's attention" by starting the fires, for which he used a cigarette lighter and some twigs.

Police were able to arrest him on Wednesday after discovering that all the eight fires, which destroyed 20 hectares (50 acres) of forest, had started within 500 meters (yards) of his home in the village of Ligueux, where he lived with his mother.

Aside from the one-year jail term, Moreau was also given a two-year suspended prison sentence.

About 54,000 hectares of woodland have been destroyed by fires throughout France this year -- the worst total in 15 years.

A severe drought and heat wave are partly responsible, but officials say they fear that many of the fires were started deliberately.

TERRA.WIRE