A BOLTON house where a cannabis farm was found during a police raid has been destroyed by fire.

Police were called to the end-of-terrace house in Tonge Moor Road just before 9pm last night after neighbours alerted the emergency services to an alleged break-in.

Officers broke the door down to find the house was on fire and called the fire brigade and ambulance service. Nearby residents were evacuated while firefighters tackled the blaze.

Rebecca Critchley, aged 21, who lives next door with her partner, Frank Culliney, aged 19, and baby daughter, Olivia, dialled 999 when she heard loud noises coming from the house.

"The banging and crashing woke Olivia and I knew someone had broken in, so I called the police," she said. "I had no idea there had been a fire."

Gordon Duckworth, aged 74, who lives next door but one, said: "I'm glad someone rang the police. Who knows what would have happened if the fire had taken hold?"

Police raided the house on April 9 and found a cannabis farm. Three upstairs bedrooms had been converted to cultivate the plants. No-one was injured in the blaze last night.