Arson victim leaps for her life (From This Is Lancashire)

Arson victim leaps for her life

9:45am Monday 6th September 2010 in

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A YOUNG woman jumped for her life out of an upstairs bedroom window after her house was targeted by arsonists.

The blaze started in Deepdale Road, Breightmet, when someone took washing from a line in the back garden, piled it against the back door and set fire to it.

Terrified Natalie Dawson, aged 21, panicked and leapt from a first floor bedroom window as the fire burned through the door and filled the house with thick black smoke.

She tried to jump on to a canopy below, but missed and injured her ankle as she landed on the concrete floor 15 feet below.

Her mum, 43-year-old Elizabeth Garry, who was also inside at the time, managed to escape unhurt through the front door. Both women were also treated for smoke inhalation and taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital after the incident, which happened at around 1.45am on Saturday.

Miss Dawson said: “I was in bed watching TV, and I heard a banging and looked outside, but I didn’t see anything and didn’t think anything of it.

“Then I heard the smoke alarm going off, so I ran into my mum’s bedroom and said ‘there’s a fire, we need to get out’.”

In the confusion, the pair became separated and Miss Dawson jumped out of her bedroom window.

She said: “I thought my mum wasn’t going to get out. Whoever did this needs locking up.”

Doctors told Miss Dawson that it was not clear whether her leg was broken because of the swelling.

Mrs Garry, who works at the Olympus chip shop in Bolton town centre, said she thought that whoever set fire to the house had waited for them to turn their lights off, because the attack happened shortly after she went to bed.

She said: “Who would do this? I can’t believe it. I’ve lived here for 15 years and I can’t think of anyone who would do that to anybody.”

Mrs Garry put the fire out from outside using a mop bucket before firefighters arrived, but the inside of the house was badly smokedamaged.

Her two other children, 17-yearold Paul Grundy and Kirsty Dawson, aged 22, were out at the time of the fire.

Watch commander Nic Rowbotham from Bolton North fire station said: “It could have been a lot more serious than it was. If it wasn’t for the smoke alarm, who knows what would have happened?”

A police spokesman said the incident was being treated as arson with intent to endanger life.

Detectives are appealing for anyone with information to call Bolton CID on 0161 8565740 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

● An 18-year-old man has been arrested and bailed by police.