A STOLEN car was set on fire in the middle of Breightmet Golf Course.

The vehicle had previously performed 'doughnut' spins and handbrake turns on the turf, destroying a significant section of the course.

The car, a black Kia Sportage which was reported stolen from Farnworth overnight, was then abandoned and set on fire.

Fire crews had difficulty getting to the fire, which was in a remote location of the course – far from the clubhouse which is in Red Lane.

Firefighters had to park next to a nearby field and walk 500m to the fire carrying 100kg of equipment.

They were called to the incident at approximately 2am on Friday, so there was no natural light.

And no street lighting in the remote part of the course meant the crew had to use hand torches while they worked to extinguish the flames.

Firefighters from Bolton Central fire station were called, since Bolton North were supporting with a large industrial fire in Bury.

Crew manager from Bolton Central, Carl Gleaves, said: “Our resources are currently stretched and incidents like this really tie us up for more important things.

“It took one-and-a-half hours for us to deal with a car fire, because of the conditions, whereas it usually might take 30 minutes.

“To have a fire engine tied up for one-and-a-half hours is far from ideal.

“It is also very bad news for whoever owns Breightmet Golf Club, as a lot of damage has been done.”

Breightmet Golf Club’s captain, John Woods, said: “It is a nightmare for our golf club to be honest, we’re just a working club.

“It is incredibly frustrating.

“It is us, ordinary members, who will have to pay for this, we have no lucky charm to fix things like this.”

Mr Woods added that it was fortunate the car did not damage any greens on the course, which would have been more damaging financially, as well as in terms of disruption for members.

The car was left burnt-out at the bottom of the eighth hole, on the fairway, but the course remains open – on Friday morning members were out playing.

Earlier this year, another stolen car was abandoned and set on fire in the club’s car park.

Anybody with any information should call police on 101.