A VAN was set on fire and pushed down a hill in a suspected arson attack which firefighters say could have easily had “catastrophic” consequences.

The white Ford Transit van was discovered at the junction at the bottom of Outwood Road and Lodge Brow, in Radcliffe, at around 7.30pm on Monday evening.

A crew from Whitefield Fire Station attended the scene at around 7.50pm and spent approximately 20 minutes tackling the blaze, which in the end completely destroyed the vehicle.

It is thought that the van was deliberately set ablaze before being pushed down the bank.

Police say they are still carrying out investigations regarding the incident but are treating it as suspicious.

Watch manager John Van Geffen said: “It could have been a catastrophic incident.

“It is quite a busy road, so it is lucky that the van did not hit anyone as it came down the hill.

“The van was well alight when we got there and there was nothing salvageable.”

One resident, who prefers not to be named, saw the blaze out of her kitchen window and called the fire brigade.

The resident, who lives on James Street North, which joins on to the top of Lodge Brow, said that she saw the van on fire at the top of the hill.

“I could see flames really close out of our window so called the fire brigade straight away.

“When I went outside to see exactly what was going on there was a white van ablaze at the bottom of the road.

“The fire brigade took about 20 minutes to arrive and it didn’t take them long to clean everything up but it was certainly a big blaze.”

A worker at Outwood Tyres, immediately adjacent to the junction at the bottom of Outwood Road and Lodge Brow, said: “I was upstairs as I was working late and could smell the burning from in the office. 

“The next thing I saw a white van on fire at the junction at the bottom of Lodge Brow so I panicked because I thought something had happened on our premises.”

“The fire crew didn’t seem to take too long to put the fire out and remove the van.”

Police say they are continuing investigations and are treating the incident as suspicious.