He tells The You Rock Foundation: "I had a complete meltdown and I had a rough time in a romantic relationship - but I can't really blame this sort of meltdown on me breaking up with a girlfriend - it had been building and building.

"I came home from a wedding and I was really drunk and ate two or three boxes of sleeping pills. I lay down on my couch and I'm just like, 'I'm gonna die, this is awesome, I'm done with this terrible world.' But what happened was I woke up crazy and drunk."

Blythe then set fire to the house, prompting the arrival of fire services and police. He was then handcuffed which led to an altercation. He adds: "I was spitting at them, calling them 'pigs' because I was gonna die - I figured I'd do whatever I want.

"The police started on me with a nightstick - they thought I was on crack, they didn't realise I was having this complete emotional breakdown. I was trying to exit this existence."