Arson evacuation

THE occupants of two houses were evacuated last night as a fire raged in an unoccupied neighbouring property and threatened to spread into the roof space.

Three fire crews from Oldham and Hollins turned out to the blaze in a terrace house in Jowett Street, Watersheddings, at 9.20pm.

The ground floor and first floor were well alight, and they fought the flames with a hydraulic platform on standby in case they spread to the roof space.

They managed to contain the blaze, but the roof space was heavily smoke-logged, and fire-fighters asked the occupants of neighbouring properties to leave while they checked their roof spaces.

The fire is thought to have been started deliberately.