Schoolgirls admit causing blaze

FLASHBACK: The devastation at the plastic storage warehouse on Meek Street, Royton

TWO schoolgirls have admitted starting a million-pound blaze at a Royton plastic storage warehouse.

The youngsters, aged 12 and 14, pleaded guilty to arson caused by recklessness when they appeared before a judge at Manchester Crown Court on Friday.

The youngsters, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were dressed in school uniforms and in the dock with their mothers when the court heard how they began a fire with a cigarette lighter at the warehouse in Meek Street, off Higginshaw Lane, on May 12.

The girls sprayed deodorant as an accelerant before realising the fire was starting to get out of control, and attempting to extinguish the blaze.

They panicked and ran away, the court heard.

Sixty firefighters battled to get the flames under control at the warehouse, which was packed with carpets, plastics, vinyls and foams. The billowing smoke could be seen for miles around.

Fire crews spent days dampening down the scene

The girls will face sentence on February 1, 2013 following pre-sentence and psychiatric reports.