A man has been arrested after an arson attack in Harpurhey.

At around 4:50am on Sunday 17 November 2019, police were called to Harpurhey Shopping Centre, Manchester to reports of a serious assault.

The victim – a 26-year-old man – was assaulted by a man who set his sleeping bag and clothing on fire.

Emergency services attended and although the victim didn’t suffer any injuries, his clothing was damaged by the fire.

A 27-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and is in custody for questioning.

Detective Inspector Tony Platten, of GMP’s City of Manchester division, said: “This was a shocking crime which could have caused substantial injury to the victim and as such and as such I want to reassure the community and the wider public that we are treating this very seriously.

“Please let it be known that this behaviour will not be tolerated in Greater Manchester, and we are doing all we can to bring those responsible to justice.

Whilst we’ve made an arrest we are still appealing for witnesses as our investigation does not stop here. If anyone has any information please do not hesitate to get in touch.”

Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 63985, quoting incident number 2152 of 17/11/2019. Reports can be made anonymously to Crimestoppers to 0800 555 111.