A "DELIBERATE" fire ripped through a college outbuilding after timber was set alight.

Firefighters were called to the blaze in an outbuilding at the back of the former Bolton College Horwich campus in Victoria Road at 7.10pm this evening.

The single-storey garage, which is located close to the boundary of Horwich Golf Club, caught fire after waste timber stored inside it was set alight.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze had been started deliberately.

The site has been empty since last summer when the college relocated to new town centre facilities, and controversial plans to build 140 homes on the land were passed last June.

Firefighters left the scene at 8pm after tackling the blaze using a hose reel.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the incident had been passed on to them by the fire service but was not currently being investigated.