FIRE chiefs suspect a massive blaze at a Church scrapyard could be arson.

Forty vehicles, including cars, caravans, and trucks, were destroyed at Copy Clough Caravans, in Dill Hall Lane, early on Wednesday morning.

At its height, 25 firefighters tackled the blaze, using water from the nearby canal.

A joint investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and Lancashire Constabulary.

John Taylor, spokesman for the fire and rescue service, said: “In the early stages, it was suspected that it was arson, and that is still uppermost in the investigation.

“A fire like that leaves a lot of debris for the forensic team to sift through, and the police will have witnesses to interview.

“The fire service calibrate a technical insight into how fires behave. It will probably take quite a while before the cause is identified.”