A DERELICT house in Atherton was set on fire in a suspected arson attack.

The three-story detached home, in Newbrook Road, is believed to have been set on fire at about 8pm last night.

Firefighters from Bolton, Atherton and Farnworth were called to tackle the blaze, which took more than four hours to control.

When they arrived, the ground floor and first floor were on fire and fire crews battled to enter the building after reports that there had been children near the property.

Watch manager Dave Holden said: "Due to the house being derelict and it being boarded up it was hard for us to gain entry so we focused on tackling it from the outside.

"As it wasn't a life-saving operation it would have been dangerous to send firefighters in because of the condition of the property until we had it under control.

"We used thermal imaging equipment which allows us to monitor the heat inside the building so we could send crews into the coolest place.

"Once the fire was under control four firefighters gained entry through a ground floor window to check there was no-one inside, which there wasn't.

"The fire had destroyed a lot of the first floor flooring but thankfully for us the staircase was still intact.

"We believe it was started deliberately, however the reason for that we are not sure.

"I believe the police are now investigating."

Greater Manchester Police said they are treating the fire as an arson and are investigating.