FIREFIGHTERS battled a blaze at the disused Robert Fletcher paper mill in Stoneclough last night.
More than 200 wooden pallets stacked in a small brick storage unit within the complex were set alight by suspected arsonists, the fire service said.
Crews from Farnworth fire station fought the blaze for more than an hour from 7.45pm. It was contained to the unit.
Security guards at the derelict mill in Market Street raised the alarm and told fire crews that they had seen children running around the site before the fire broke out.
A fire service spokesman today confirmed that the blaze was being treated as malicious. No one was hurt, but firefighters had to take precautions after fears that the roof of the small unit was lined with asbestos.
Plans to build a 218-home housing estate and community centre at the disused paper mill, built in 1823, are in progress.
More than 145 jobs were lost when Robert Fletcher and Sons Ltd closed and went into receivership with losses totalling £1.8 million in July 2001.
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