A CAFE owner today said "half of his life" had gone up in smoke after a suspected arson attack.

Tony Walsh has run the Rose Cafe in Nelson market for 24 years but all that now remains is a blackened gutted shell.

The whole market could have gone up in flames had fire crews not got there in time, according to Sub Officer Lee Flattery.

He said: "We were called at 10pm on Saturday and when we arrived there was smoke coming out from under the market roof and something obviously on fire inside."

Firefighters had to break down a door in Cross Street to gain entry and once inside they saw a fire in Rose Cafe.

Because of the danger of the blaze spreading the two Nelson appliances were joined by two more from Burnley along with an ladder platform.

Mr Flattery said; "We were fortunate to catch it in the early stages.

"If we had been much later it would have spread to other stalls and we could have lost the whole market hall. We were lucky to catch it when we did."

Damage was confined to the cafe although the market hall roof void was smoke-logged.

Mr Flattery said: "We are treating it as a suspicious fire. It is being investigated by the fire service and police. There were signs of a break-in and I think we must have got there fairly soon after the break-in occurred."

Mr Walsh, 54, said: "I am just numb. It is too early to think about re-opening, I can't get my head around that yet.

"I have spent many thousand of hours here over the years and I have regular customers who have been coming here for twenty years."

Mr Walsh said: "Two young women saw two lads running away and they raised the alarm straight away otherwise the whole market could have gone."

Police detained two juveniles and a seven-year-old boy. The juveniles were arrested and questioned about the incident and were later released on police bail pending further inquiries.