AN INVESTIGATION has been launched following a suspected arson attack at a derelict care home building.

A fire service spokesman warned lives could have been put at risk following the fire in the rear end of the building in Barkerhouse Road, Nelson, which happened at around 5.50pm this evening.

The fire is believed to have stared in a ground floor utility room and spread into a first floor bedroom.

It has caused severe damage to the back of the building, the spokesman said.

Two fire engines from Nelson Station and one from Burnley attended the incident and six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus managed to extinguish the blaze.

A joint investigation between the fire service and police to establish the cause of the fire and who is responsible has been launched.

No arrests have been made. Nobody was injured in the fire.

The fire service spokesman added: "This was dangerous and selfish behaviour. Not only did it tie up resources from going to a potentially more serious fire elsewhere. It also meant that if somebody had got lost in the building and couldn't find their way out, or if they had fallen through one of the floors, it could have resulted in serious injury or a fatality."

Anyone with information can call police on 101.