A FIRE which destroyed a car and spread to a house where children were sleeping was a targeted attack, say detectives.

Officers are trawling through CCTV footage and making door to door enquiries in a bid to find the person responsible for the arson attack.

Emergency services were called to house in Sandhill Close, Great Lever, just before 4am on Friday when a blue Mercedes A Class parked on the driveway was deliberately set on fire.

An investigation has been launched and officers are continuing to speak to neighbours, recover CCTV and carry out any further forensic work.

Detective Inspector Mike Gladwin, from GMP’s Bolton borough, said: “We believe this was a targeted attack on this property and are trying to establish why someone would do this.

“Setting fire to anything is extremely dangerous but to torch a car outside a property where children are inside could have resulted in devastating consequences. Thankfully, in this instance, no one was injured However, this was still a terrifying ordeal for the family and we are doing everything we can to find the person responsible for this."

Anyone with information is urged to ring Bolton CID on 0161 856 5757 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.