A ROW of garages was set alight in what police believe was an arson attack.

The garages, which were used for storage, are situated to the rear of Harcourt Road, between Gainsborough Avenue and Granville Road.

The garage complex was set alight just after midnight on Friday, and two fire engines were sent to tackle the blaze.

Firefighters were at the scene for around two hours extinguishing the flames, and the garages were badly damaged by the fire.

The row of around four storage units was left blackended and burnt out after the fire.

Neighbours reported seeing clouds of thick black smoke, which spread across the road.

Shaida Parveen Hussain said: “There was a lot of smoke coming into my house.

“I was asleep and the smell woke me up.

“I went outside the front door and saw it was quite a big fire.

“There was a lot of really, really thick black smoke.”

Another resident, Nasser Hussain, 32, said: “I had been to pray, and I came back and saw the fire engines.

“There were two fire engines, and they were there for about two hours.

“There was a lot of smoke. It wasn’t so bad from my house, but when you got closer there was a lot of smoke.”

Residents on the street said they were unsure who the garages belonged to.

Inspector Phil Hutchinson from Lancashire Constabulary said that an unknown number of offenders had approached the run-down garage complex, and set it alight.

He said: “A joint investigation with the fire service is ongoing.

“This is a very serious offence, if anyone has got any information as to the offenders, please let us know by calling 101, or reporting it to neighbourhood police officers.

“They can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. ”