Suspected stolen car destroyed by flames

The Vauxhall Astra was already consumed by flames when a crew from Atherton fire station arrived at fields off Spa Road in the town at 2am on Friday November 12.

They were at the scene for about an hour, damping down the blaze and all that was left was a burnt out shell.

Watch manager Martin Collinge said: "It looked like the vehicle had been abandoned and set on fire.

"It was on land next to the football stadium and thankfully wasn't a threat to any other vehicles or property. The police were called to assess whether the car was stolen then they would be contacting the council or one of their recovery companies to take it away. They are usually pretty quick about that."

Anyone with information about the vehicle and fire is asked to ring police on 101 or the freephone Crimestoppers number, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

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