ARSONISTS smashed down a door to start a fire in the kitchen of a teenage tenant.

Luckily Anne-Marie Bouch, 18, was staying overnight at a friend's house when the attackers struck at her home on Ramsay Avenue, New Bury, Farnworth.

Her boyfriend, Richard Hill, says he has no idea why his girlfriend, who has been living in the semi-detached house for several months, was targeted by arsonists.

Neighbours alerted the fire brigade when they saw flames coming from the back door at about 1am yesterday.

Arsonists had kicked through a back door panel before piling rubbish in the entrance to the kitchen and setting it alight. Mr Hill was at a friend's house nearby when he was told about the blaze.

He said: "I rushed back to the house and saw the fire brigade there.

"They had put out the fire but there was still a lot of smoke in the house.

"The police asked if we knew someone who might have done it but I haven't got a clue."

Meanwhile, detectives are probing a blaze at an Atherton flat after investigations revealed it had been wrecked before being set on fire.

Wreckers smashed their way into the first floor flat on Everest Road in the early hours of yesterday morning while the owner, John Humphries, was out.

They trashed the flat and daubed graffiti on the walls before making a 999 call to report a bogus shooting and fire at the premises.

Fire, police and ambulances raced to the flat but could not find any signs of a shooting or fire and left the scene. Around 45 minutes later, as police tried to trace Mr Humphries, the gang returned and set fire to a settee.

A neighbour raised the alarm but the fire, at about 3.10am, destroyed the living room and damaged the rest of the flat.

Mr Humphries turned up as firefighters tackled the blaze.

The premises have now been boarded up by the council.

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