Willow sculpture destroyed by deliberate fire

The willow-weaved statue of a woman and child collecting flowers had been installed at Blue Bell Boundary Gardens as part of a project by Atherton Environmental Projects (AEP) to make the entrance to Atherton more attractive.

But at around 11.30pm last night, Friday, firefighters were called to the garden on Bolton Old Road after the sculpture was deliberately set on fire.

Crew manager Paul Gibbons said: "All that hard work by the community has gone up in flames and we have had to spend 20 minutes on a busy Friday night putting the fire out.

"The sculpture of a woman and a child collecting flowers has been completely destroyed by someone who deliberately set it alight."