A TEARFUL mother looked at the devastation of her arson-hit home today and said: "My children could have died."

Talit Anwar and her family had a lucky escape when her house was set alight.

Fortunately they were not in the house when the arsonist pushed burning paper through the letterbox.

Flames engulfed the living room of the mid-terraced home in Elmwood Road, Heaton, shortly after midnight.

Mrs Anwar said: "If my children had been asleep in that house, I don't know what would have happened.

"We had just spent a lot of money on our home and now it's been destroyed. I can't think why anyone would do this. It is just so fortunate nobody was in."

Neighbours watched in horror as firefighters battled to contain the blaze, believing the children, aged two, three and five, may have been inside.

Mohammed Anwar was at work when the firebug struck as his wife was keeping her pregnant sister-in-law company at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

The children were staying with Mrs Anwar's parents nearby.

A 26-year-old neighbour, who raised the alarm, said: "I could hear glass breaking and when I looked out of the window, I saw flames coming from the door. I rushed to the phone to call the fire brigade -- it was terrifying to see."

Firefighters were initially told there were three children inside the house.

Station officer Pete Brandon of Bolton Central Fire Station said: "Four people went in with breathing apparatus and searched the house but fortunately for the family they were all out."

The blaze had set off a fire alarm.

A neighbour said: "I can't believe the mentality of people who do this sort of thing. It was frightening because we didn't know if the children were at home. The whole street was out until 4am."

The front hall was destroyed and the ground floor badly damaged. Smoke damaged the rest of the house.

Police are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to ring Crimestoppers on the free phone number 0800 555 1111.