FIREFIGHTERS tackled a blaze at a former nightclub in Bolton town centre this afternoon.

The fire broke out on the ground floor of the old Late Club, in Bank Street, at around 4.30pm.

Emergency services were alerted when a passer-by noticed smoke coming from a hole in a first-floor window.

Smoke had spread through the former venue although the fire itself was contained to the first floor.

No one was found inside the building but  firefighters discovered the remnants of an old cannabis farm.

Karston Boyle, watch manager at Bolton Central, said: “We had to make entry into the ground floor and there was evidence of a break-in at the rear, possibly by rough sleepers.

“A quantity of waste material had been set alight, possibly by a cigarette, but more likely to be deliberately.”

Firefighters checked the first and second floors of the building for other fires but did not find any.

Three fire engines responded to the incident.

The Late Club ceased trading in 2012.