Police believe Manchester house fire was started deliberately

Police investigating a house fire in Newton Heath say they believe the blaze was started deliberately. Emergency services were scrambled to the property on Culcheth Lane on Saturday (August 27).

The fire service said the blaze involved 'several bins in front of a domestic property'. Pictures from the scene showed a smashed window and smoke damage at the property in north Manchester.

Greater Manchester Police have since confirmed that the fire did not reach the inside the property, and that no occupants were inside the house at the time of the blaze. Firefighters spent about half-an-hour at the scene.

READ MORE: Heartbreak after teenager, 16, dies after inhaling laughing gas at house party

The force have now told the M.E.N that the fire is being treated as arson and are urging anyone with information about the incident to get in touch immediately.

In a statement, GMP said: "We were called shortly after 9.15am on Saturday (27 August) to a report of a fire outside an address on Culcheth Lane, Manchester. Thankfully, the fire did not get inside the property and there were no occupants present at the time.

"The fire is believed to have been deliberately started and anyone with information should contact us via LiveChat or by calling 101 quoting incident 1051 of 27/08/2022."

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said on Saturday: "At about 9:15am this morning we received a report of a fire on Culcheth Lane, Manchester, involving several bins in front of a domestic property.

"Three fire engines from Phillips Park, Hollins, and Manchester Central fire stations arrived quickly at the incident, where firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used a hose reel to tackle the flames. Crews carried out checks