Appeal following arson attack at occupied house in Ellesmere Port

Detectives are appealing for witnesses to come forward following an overnight arson attack at an occupied house in Ellesmere Port.

Between 2am and 7am on Saturday 11 May an accelerant was poured onto a mat in front of a house on Pound Road in Little Sutton.

The front door mat was then set alight.

People were inside the house sleeping when the arson attack occurred, but thankfully the fire went out by itself and only caused minor damage to the front door.

Enquiries in relation to the incident are ongoing and detectives are urging anyone who witnessed the fire being started or saw anything suspicious in the area to come forward.

They are also keen to hear from anyone who believes they may know who started the fire or have CCTV or dashcam footage that may aid the investigation.

Detective Constable Steven Huxley, of Ellesmere Port CID, said: “Arson is an extremely serious offence – people can die as a result of fires being started deliberately.

“In this instance a mat outside the front door of a house was set on fire as the homeowners were inside sleeping.

“Thankfully the fire went out by itself and only caused minor damage to the front door.

“The incident could have been a lot worse than it was.

“I would like to reassure the community that we believe this to be an isolated incident and are determined to catch whoever was responsible for the fire and bring them to justice.

“Enquiries are ongoing and I urge anyone who saw what happened or witnessed anything suspicious in the area to get in touch with the team here at Ellesmere Port Police Station.

“The same goes for anyone with information regarding who started the fire.

“We also want to hear from anyone who believes they may have CCTV or dashcam footage that could be relevant to our investigation.”