A fire broke out earlier today at sheltered housing in Bolton.

Crews from Bolton North Fire Station arrived on the scene at Connaught Square off Tonge Moor Road at around 3pm.

There they found that a fire had started on some vines growing outside a row of between six and eight sheltered accommodation flats which had become dry in the recent warm weather.

Watch Manager Carl Gleaves said: “Somehow the external vines on the property had caught fire.

“It could have been a discarded cigarette, it could have been children playing with matches, there is CCTV footage which hopefully will show how it was started.”

Watch Manager Gleaves explained that there had been someone inside the housing at the time who had used a glass of water to dampen the fire but that nobody had been harmed.

He added that this is one of several recent occasions that fire crews had been called to deal with emergencies in the area.

They remained on the scene for around an hour until 4pm on Tuesday afternoon.

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An investigation will now begin to determine the cause of the fire.

Watch Manager Gleaves appealed to the public to be cautious and keep to fire safety advice, especially with late summer a particularly busy time for the fire and rescue service.

Always call 999 in the event of an emergency.