FIREFIGHTERS were deliberately put at risk by arsonists who set a stable on fire on Friday.

Three crews attended the small fire at a stable on Glenview Road, Burnley, at about 7pm and found that a gas cylinder was in danger of heating up and exploding.

A spokesperson for the service said: "The owner of the stables said that he had put a number of gas cylinders elsewhere for safe keeping, so it looks it had been deliberately moved to pose a threat to the safety of fire officers.

"There is no obvious reason for the fire, so we have to believe that it was deliberate. The police attended and are investigating.

"Because we were worried about the gas cyclinder exploding, we has to use a hose reel from a distance, to cool the cyclinder before moving it safely away."

The fire took an hour to extinguish and no animals were in the stable at the time of the fire.