FIREFIGHTERS risked their lives fighting a flat blaze that may have been started by arsonists.

They faced fierce and intense flames when they entered the flat in Gibraltar Street, Gilnow.

The door had been forced in and firemen found two fires inside, one in the living room and a second in a bedroom.

Station officer Vinny Redford of Bolton Central fire station said: "The fire was very intense. The living room was destroyed and the bedroom was also badly damaged.

"Fire can spread rapidly but when there are two fires in a property it often means that they have been started deliberately."

Detectives are investigating.