A DISUSED pub and restaurant was set on fire in the early hours of this morning.

Three fire engines, two from Bolton Central and one from Bolton North, were called to tackle the blaze in St George's Road, at 3.45am.

On arrival the crew saw smoke coming from the first floor of the building, the former Crofters Arms Hotel - known as Smudge's - and found the door to the building, which is boarded up, forced open.

Watch Manager at Bolton Karsten Boyle said: "It could have only been started deliberately by someone setting fire to combustable items which then spread to the fixtures of the building."

The blaze was located by fire crews, who entered the building wearing breathing apparatus, on the first floor landing of the building.

Firefighter Boyle added: "We located the fire and then searched the property for possible occupancy such as rough sleepers but we found it to be empty.

"It was heavily smoke logged, but the fire damage was confined to the bar area.

"We were on the scene for about two and a half hours and police were also on the scene.

"The owner of the building was subsequently found and he was left to re-secure the property."

Investigations by police are ongoing.

The former pub was re-opened in 2009 by licensees Jane McDonald and her partner Frank Smith who named it Smudges — a free house combining traditional real ales and an English-style restaurant — but the project did not take off.

It was closed in 2010 after the death of Mr Smith.

More recently a planning application was submitted to Bolton Council by developers who wanted to convert the historic building, which has been vacant for a number of years, into 14 apartments in 2015.

However the application was not successful.