A FORD Escort was so badly burnt last night that Atherton firefighters were unable to tell what colour it had been.

The car was torched on Rackwood Colliery, off Leigh Road, at around 6.15pm.

A fire service spokesman said: "We are treating it as deliberate and police have been informed. The car was completely burnt out."

He added there has been a spate of car fires recently at the colliery and it was becoming "a Ford Escort graveyard."