TWO men accused of murdering three members of a family in a fire were "wickedly reckless" and did not care whether their victims lived or died, a court has been told.

Scott Snowden and Robert Jennings are accused of murdering Thomas Sharkey, 55, his 21-year-old son Thomas jnr and eight-year-old daughter Bridget in Helensburgh.

They deny all the charges against them, including attempting to murder Mr Sharkey's wife Angela in the blaze in the town's Scott Court on July 24, 2011.

In his closing speech at the High Court in Glasgow, advocate depute Alex Prentice, prosecuting, reminded the jury of the "terrible effects" of the fire and Mr Sharkey's "desperate" attempts to get out.

He said: "Was it murder?""I say yes, it was murder.

"This was a fire set in the early hours of the morning with the introduction of petrol into the only door access and egress to the property, and no means of escape.

"I say you would be entitled to conclude that whoever set that fire intended to kill."

The advocate depute said an act could be considered murder if those involved acted in such a "wickedly reckless way" they did not care "whether their victims live or die".

"I suggest in any view that this is one of those cases," he said. "If you pour petrol through the letterbox of a door at five in the morning and set it on fire, what do you think is going to happen?

"I say with little difficulty you can conclude, and should conclude, this was murder and attempted murder."

Mr Prentice said the case had a "background of involvement in drugs".

There was evidence that Mr Sharkey Snr had "intervened in connection with a debt" and that Snowden had a "hatred" of him, he told the jury.

The advocate depute said it was an accepted fact that Snowden had an alibi and was in Mexico at the time of the fire.

But he added: "There is a pattern here, something happens to Mr Snowden that annoys him and he exacts some sort of revenge.

"There is a compelling course of conduct, a campaign of violence carried out by these two men."

Donald Findlay QC, representing Snowden, asked the jury to see through the "smoke screen" of the Crown case, which he said was an example of the proverb "give a dog a bad name and hang him".

Mr Findlay said his client was a drug dealer and a "bad dog" but that was no reason to assume he was guilty of more serious charges.

In addition to murder and attempted murder, Snowden and Jennings deny a string of charges including wilful fire-raising, assault and being concerned in the supply of drugs.

The trial, before Lord Matthews, continues.