Two teenage girls have been arrested following a fire at a Breightmet primary school.

A group of youths were reportedly seen on the roof and in the grounds of the school in Red Lane shortly before the fire broke out yesterday.

Police were alerted to the fire at Red Lane Community School by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service on Sunday at about 1.50pm.

An extensive amount of damage has been caused by the flames but no one was injured or inside the building at the time.

READ MORE: Fire crews tackle blaze at Red Lane Primary School

Officers are treating the incident as arson and have since arrested two 14-year-old girls in connection with the fire. They have since been released under investigation.

Detective Sergeant Rob Parker, from GMP’s Bolton CID, said: “Deliberately targeting and setting fire to a school is completely reckless and I am just thankful that no one has been hurt as result of this dangerous behaviour.

“Extensive damage has been caused and parts of the building are now completely unusable. We know there were several young people around the school just before the fire started and we are keen to speak to anyone who might know who they are, or have any information about them.

“The local neighbourhood team work hard to tackle anti-social behaviour in the area and the school does get passing attention as part of their patrols. They will continue to work with the community and anyone with any concerns should approach them and they will try and help in any way they can.”

Craig Graham, chair of BASE Academy Trust and Lisa Whittaker, executive headteacher thanked the emergency services and the community for their response.

They said: “We are currently working with the local authority to assess the impact of the fire and working to get essential services resumed and begin the clean up operation.

“At this stage, we are working as hard as we can to arrange alternative provisions to ensure we can reopen as normal after half term.

“As ever, we remain committed to our children, and our top priority is to ensure that their education is not interrupted as a result of this awful event.”

If you have any information, details can be passed onto police by calling the Bolton Neighbourhood team at Astley Bridge on 0161 856 5738 quoting incident number 1119 of 21 October 2018 , or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.