A 26-year-old man has been arrested after a family of five were forced to flee their home when the front door was set ablaze.

Police have arrested the man on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and he has been bailed pending further enquiries.

The incident happened at about 2.30am on Saturday morning at an address in Jedburgh Street, Heaton, which is occupied by Grandmother Beverley McKeown.

She, along with her son Micky, daughter Jade, Jade’s fiancé Kristopher Power and Mrs McKeown’s three-year-old grandson were alerted to the danger by a smoke alarm and forced to escape from a first floor window at the back of the house as the flames took hold.

Police have said an accelerant, thought to be petrol, was poured over the front door and set alight.

Firefighters arrived quickly to the scene and were able to stop the blaze spreading to the rest of the house or to neighbouring properties.

They also entered the property to rescue the family dog.

Police are continuing to ask anyone with any information about the attack to contact them on 0161 856 5761.

Detective Sergeant Rob Parker, said: “We believe an accelerant was used to start this fire, that could very easily have killed all inside, had they not been alerted by their smoke alarm and managed to escape."