A VAN fire which damaged a nearby house is being treated as a suspected arson attack.

Firefighters from Bolton were called to Eckersley Road at about 3.15am this morning after reports of a major van fire.

The fire destroyed the Mercedes van and also damaged a house it was parked next to.

A spokesman for the fire service said: “A number of local residents had been woken by the fire and had come out to give us some information about the van.

“It doesn’t seem to belong to anyone local but has been completely written off.

“The adjacent house was damaged although there were no injuries.”

Police are now investigating the cause of the fire.