FIRE swept through a factory roof on a trading estate on Wednesday night after hundreds of wooden pallets were set alight in a suspected arson attack.

Seventy firefighters were confronted by flames more than 20ft high as they battled to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby homes.

The blaze is believed to have started in large stacks of pallets and spread to the premises of Raikes Clough Pallets on the Bradley Fold Trading Estate, Radcliffe Moor Road.

Fire investigators were today still investigating the cause, but police are treating it as arson.

Firefighters were called to the factory shortly before 10pm last night. Strong winds spread the flames to the roof and flames and smoke could be seen for miles around.

The heat of the blaze caused windows on a nearby housing estate to crack and extra firefighters were called in to cool roof tops with water jets. Two vehicles loaded with pallets in the factory yard and a van were also destroyed. Firefighters fought for nearly two hours to control the blaze and managed to stop it spreading to a neighbouring bathroom firm and other buildings on the estate.

No-one was able to enter the factory this morning but it is thought thousands of pounds worth of stock and machinery were destroyed. Firefighters were still damping down as police and fire investigators searched through the debris.

Leading firefighter Barry Hornsby said: "The fire was going very well at the back of a large stack of pallets when we arrived and the strong winds were pushing the flames very close to the building.

"We weren't able to stop the roof catching fire because of the ferocity of the flames. We were up against it but all the lads worked incredibly hard in immense heat to stop it spreading any further.

"We were also concerned about a number of houses on a street nearby where windows had cracked and roofs were starting to steam."

A worker cleaning up at nearby bathroom firm Hopkinsons said: "The fire brigade has saved our building and fortunately all we've had to deal with is a bit of water damage and a few pieces of stock which have melted."

Residents feared for their homes as heat from the flames cracked windows and melted guttering. Many watched the fire throughout the night to make sure their homes were safe.

One woman resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "I was frightened my house would catch fire. We could feel the heat from inside and the windows began to crack.

"I called the fire brigade and they came to hose down the house and the garage. The damage to our home is expected to run into thousands of pounds."

She revealed that a small group of children were spotted playing around the pallets before the fire. "There are children messing with the pallets and starting small fires all the time," she said. "It was only a matter of time before this happened."

Earlier this week, a derelict mill in Stopes Road in Radcliffe -- just a few hundred yards from last night's incident -- was destroyed by fire.