A FIREFIGHTER has accused arsonists of putting crew members' lives at risk and tying up resources after furniture at a derelict day centre was ignited.

Fire engines from Whitefield, Blackley and Broughton were called to the old Wheatfield Day Centre in Victoria Avenue at about 11.50am on Tuesday, February 27.

They arrived to find that some tables and chairs had been ignited but the blaze was extinguished before the building suffered significant damage.

There had been reports that two people were inside the building at the time of the fire but nobody was discovered during a search of the property.

Karl Gibbons, watch manager at Whitefield Fire Station, was left frustrated by the incident, which tied up resources for about two hours.

He said: "Youths have gone into the building and set fire to some table and chairs. It is a recurring incident. The building is all boarded up but kids keep getting in there.

"The fire itself was not particularly big but it is the fact that it could have spread. It tied us up for the best part of two hours.

"We would like to make it clear that these instances of anti-social behaviour obviously put firefighters in danger and they are in there searching for people.

"Because of the amount of time it takes to put the fire out, it means there is no fire engine at the station and if there are other more serious incidents then it is going to take longer for a fire engine to get there."

The fire crews have reported the incident to Bury Council.