Arrests after 'arson attack'

Detectives investigating a suspicious house fire in Cheshire have arrested two men.

The men, from Manchester, were detained in the early hours of Friday following the fire in Warrington, which left the occupants trapped.

In a second, unconnected, incident in the town late on Christmas Day, two police officers rescued a woman from her burning house.

On Friday, the woman was being treated in intensive care at Warrington District General Hospital (WDGH), where her condition was described as stable.

Smoke-logged

Fire, ambulance, and police crews were called to the suspected arson attack, at the house in Landseer Avenue, at about 0430 GMT.

The occupants, two men aged 43 and 25, were rescued and later taken to WDGH for treatment of smoke inhalation.

On Friday the arrested men were being held in custody and due to be interviewed by detectives.

In the earlier incident, in Watkins Street, the police officers found the house well alight and smoke-logged, when they arrived just after 2300 GMT.

They managed to assist the 64-year-old woman to safety, by crawling beneath the smoke to the upstairs room she was in.