AN investigation has been launched after a "spate" of suspected arson attacks in Farnworth.

Firefighters were called to an incident in Ramsay Avenue at about 11.50pm last night, when a wheelie bin had been set on fire next to a shed.

The blaze spread to the front of the semi-detached house, and affected the guttering, the window frame and the front door.

No-one was in the property at the time, and crews from Farnworth and Bolton Central spent about an hour at the scene.

Officers from Farnworth fire station said it was lucky that the crew got there in time to stop the fire spreading fully to the house.

A fire service spokesman said: "It was fortunate that we got there quickly enough to stop it spreading, the whole house could have come down if it had.

"We have been having a bit of a spate recently over the past couple of nights, and we are investigating."

A police spokesman confirmed the blaze is being treated as deliberate ignition and that investigations are ongoing.