A YOB who set fire to a pensioner’s house by putting a firework in her wheelie bin is being hunted by police.

Detectives are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened between 8pm and 8.30pm on Saturday.

The fire spread to the 87-year-old woman’s house because the bin was near the front door of her home in Streetgate, Little Hulton.

The victim, who asked not to be named, was unaware that the wall and roof of her house were on fire, and she was only able to escape unhurt because she was alerted by neighbours.

Det Sgt Paul Manivannan said: “The victim has limited mobility and struggles with her sight and hearing and was completely unaware that her house was on fire.

“Thanks to her neighbour alerting the fire service, the woman was not injured — however, the story could have been different.

“I would ask anyone who may have seen someone acting suspiciously in the area to contact police. At this moment we do not believe this was a targeted attack but we are keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed anything.”

Anyone with information can call police on 0161 8565097, 0161 8565041 or 0161 856 5281, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.