Suspicious fire outside block of flats

Firefighters were called to Evington in the Tanhouse area of Skelmersdale at around 12.30am on Sunday January 8.

The crews found the waste well alight and the building filling with thick black smoke.

One man was suffering the effects of smoke inhalation and was given oxygen therapy by the crews, although it is not clear if he had to go to hospital.

Firefighters from Skelmersdale and Wigan stations wearing breathing apparatus used hose reels to bring the flames under control before drawing all the smoke out with a large ventilation unit.

The crews were at the scene for around an hour and 10 minutes.

The fire is being treated as suspicious.