AN 80-YEAR-OLD woman was rescued by firefighters after arsonists set fire to furniture piled up outside her home.

Fire crews were called to the ground floor flat in Kingsfold Close, Breightmet, at around midnight on Sunday.

Waste furniture piled up outside the flat, ready for collection by Bolton Council, had been set alight by arsonists.

The blaze had spread to the window frames of the house and then to the kitchen.

Seeing the flames, a neighbour had raised the alarm and tried to kick the front door down to rescue to the pensioner.

When firefighters arrived, the woman was panicking and could not open her front door.

She managed to post her keys through the letterbox so firefighters could get into the flat and take her to safety while they tackled the fire.

Watch commander Kevin O'Connor, from Bolton Central fire station, said: "Another two minutes and the whole kitchen would have gone up.

"It was so close to killing her. Somebody just lit this furniture and went on their way, leaving this lady unable to get out of her own home.

"She was terrified and in shock when we arrived and a lot of damage was done to the front of the house."

Fire officers gave the pensioner oxygen for smoke inhalation but she declined hospital treatment.

Police are treating it as arson with intent to endanger life.