A VAN was crashed into the front of a petrol station in Little Hulton before being set on fire during a ram raid.

Police and fire crews were called to Gulf petrol station in Cleggs Lane, at about midnight last night, Monday March 6.

The vehicle, which apepars to be a Mitsubishi Delica people carrier, can be seen sticking out of the front of the petrol station shop.

It's the third time the petrol station has been targeted in less than a year.

Watch manager Oliver Deller, at Farnworth Fire Station, said: “It appears the car has driven straight into the front of the petrol station.

“Police are in attendance and the building has been deemed unsafe due to the structural damage.”

On the scene, crew manager Phil Dearden said: "We've been here since 3.30am and are now waiting for fire investigation and scenes of crime investigators.

"The vehicle has been reversed at quite a speed to get through the shutters, doors and glass.

"You can only see the front of the vehicle now. The front of the building is completely unsupported.

"There are cracks appearing in the walls, loose bricks and metal casing hanging down."

An employee at the Stumble Inn Convenience Store across the road, who didn't want to be named, said there have been at least three fires at the petrol station in the last year.

Related story: The petrol station was previously targeted in April 2016

Related story: There was another arson attack at the petrol station in July 2016

A police spokesman said: "Police were called shortly after midnight to a petrol station on Cleggs Lane in Little Hulton to a report of a van reversing into the shutters.

"The van was set alight and fled. No-one was injured and enquries are ongoing."