A MAN was forced to flee his home after a serial arsonist set fire to a settee in his back yard in Deane.

Philip Chadwick, aged 32, woke to find the blaze spreading to doors and window frames at the back of the house in Alice Street at around 3.45am.

Flames also spread to the back yard of the house next door, destroying a wooden fence and a dog kennel, and to Mr Chadwick's bedroom.

Occupants of both houses managed to escape to safety by the time fire crews arrived on the scene.

Mr Chadwick, who was asleep in the rear bedroom when the fire broke out, said: "I smelled something burning and looked out of the window and saw the whole back yard was on fire. I got out as quickly as I could and rang the fire brigade. It spread very quickly and got inside the house.

"I've lost all my clothes, but it could have been a lot worse if I hadn't woken up.

"The people who did this are idiots and could have killed somebody."

A series of fires involving wheelie bins, skips and household waste were started in the back streets in nearby Hibernia Street and Cambria Street in the early hours.

Police have linked the spate of arson attacks and launched an investigation.

Det Con Barry Coombes from Bolton Police said: "We believe the same people were responsible for the fires, one of which spread to a house and forced two people to flee.

"It could have been a lot more serious and the people responsible may not have realised the consequences of their actions."

Crews from Bolton Central and Bolton North fire stations dealt with a total of around eight small fires.

Leading Firefighter Mick Nolan said: "Somebody obviously set fire to everything in their path.

"They need to recognise that this could have had much more serious consequences had these people not been able to get themselves out of the house and raise the alarm as quickly as they did."

Last year a serial arsonist was believed to have been responsible for a series of bin fires in Astley Bridge over the summer.

Anyone with information is asked to call Bolton CID on 0161 856 5740.