A 45-year-old Wigan woman narrowly avoided ‘death and destruction’ after becoming the target of a deadly arson attack by an improvised Molotov cocktail-like incendiary.
The victim was woken by a smoke alarm in her Fairhurst Avenue home at around 1.15am on June 24 and found that there was slight damage to her front door.
Officers found that a jar filled with unknown accelerants had been placed next to her door with a rag inside.
The rag had been lit but appeared to extinguish itself after causing some damage to the door.
Police Constable Graeme Pendlebury, from the Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Because the victim had working smoke alarms she was alerted to the fire that was deliberately started outside her front door.
“While she escaped unharmed and the damage was relatively minor, obviously the potential outcome could have been one of death and destruction.
“If anyone has any information about the person responsible or why the victim’s house was targeted I would urge them to call me in absolute confidence.”
Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 7124, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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