A CAR was set on fire in a suspected arson attack in Daubhill last night.

The Seat Leon was set on fire in Argo Street at about 8.40pm and the flames spread to a terraced house, damaging the front window.

Nobody on the street knows who owns the vehicle and nobody saw how the fire started.

Mohammed Haveliwala, whose front window was damaged by the fire, was out at a wedding when the incident took place.

Mr Haveliwala, aged 42, said: “It’s pretty shocking that this could happen. If there has been any trouble around here, we don’t know about it.

“Our windows have been really badly damaged and it’s a good thing the fire didn’t spread.”

Asfaq Sarang, another Argo Street resident, saw the car go up in flames.

Mr Sarang, aged 40, said: “We were sat inside about to have some dinner when we heard several blasts — at first, I thought it was fireworks.

“The fire was very big and it looked really bad — we called the fire service and it’s a good thing they were here within five minutes.

“We don’t know whose car it is or who started the fire.

“There were no other cars parked next to it at the time, otherwise this could have been a lot worse.”

Mr Sarang’s neighbour Nazir Akuji, aged 46, added: “It’s really sad that someone could do this, particularly at Christmas.

“We were lucky that more houses didn’t catch fire.”

Firefighters from Bolton Central tackled the blaze and were on scene for about 45 minutes.

A spokesman for Bolton Central said: "There's evidence which points towards this fire being started deliberately.

"If we hadn't got there sooner, it definitely could have spread.

"The Seat Leon has been written off and the damage from the fire was contained to the street and the glazing of the nearby property."

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said they had not yet attended the scene, but would speak to witnesses.