A FIRE was started deliberately in the kitchen of an Atherton scout hut by vandals who lit cloths and tea towels over the cooker.

Firefighters were called to the second and third Atherton Scouts and Guides hut in Leigh Road at 2.45am this morning after a passerby returning from a night out spotted the flames.

Someone had broken into the scout hut’s front window by pulling off the metal grill and climbing into the kitchen.

The fire was confined to the kitchen, with firefighters quickly putting out the small blaze before clearing smoke from the building.

It caused minor damage to the work surfaces in the kitchen and a drainpipe on the outside of the building was snapped where the intruder climbed in.

The passerby who called the fire service had leaned through the window and tried to use the broken drainpipe to push the blazing towels off the cooker and onto the floor.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: “Crews put out a small fire in the kitchen and then used a fan to clear the smoke-logging from the room.”

Greater Manchester Police are now investigating the incident.

The hut, between Atherton Cemetery and new apartments, has been in use by beaver, cub and scout groups since 1978.

Joe Morris, chairman of the scout group, said: “Whoever did it must have come in quickly and got out quickly. We are just so lucky it was not a bigger fire and that it did not spread, because it could have been a lot worse.

“It just happened completely out of the blue – nothing like this has happened before. We have had problems in the past with vandalism but aside from that have been lucky.

“The fire brigade did an excellent job and the fire was out by the time we arrived at about 3am.”

Volunteers from the scouts and guide groups had recently spent a £3,000 grant on painting the facility.