A SCRAP dealer woke up to see that his pickup truck had been set on fire.

Stuart Emmason, 60, kept the white Ford Transit outside his home in Moorside Avenue, Farnworth.

At around 5am, a neighbour rang the fire service after seeing the vehicle ablaze.

It is the second vehicle fire in the area in the space of three weeks, after a car was set alight in nearby Greenfold Avenue.

This morning, Mr Emmason woke up to see his business up in flames.

"I'm a scrap man so this was my business.

"There's nothing else I can really say. It's happened. I don't know who's done it. I haven't got a clue.

"There's a rag on the ground next to my van and the firefighters said whoever did it probably put petrol on it and set it on fire. Then they've put it next to the tyre and it's just swept through."

The left hand side of the truck was left completely ravaged by the fire.

One of the tyres has melted, the paintwork has been stripped and the seats have been been destroyed.

Mr Emmason said he has no idea who set the truck on fire.

He added: "I've been here 35 years and I've never upset anybody. I just help everybody.

"I'm going take what I can salvage, drain the tank, take the locks off. I'm just going to have to plod on."

The fire service has confirmed that the fire is being treated as deliberate and it is being investigated.

A spokesman for Farnworth Community Fire Station said: "We were called to a van fire in Moorside Avenue at around 5am.

"We were there around half an hour.

"There were no injuries and nothing else has been affected.

"We would like to reassure the community that we are liaising with police and checking all CCTV in the area."

If you have any information, call the police on 101. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymosly on 0800 555111