ARSONISTS caused around £40,000 of damage to a Radcliffe company at the weekend.

And the co-manager of Tower Metal Company, Mr Dave Irving, has revealed he does not have any insurance.

Around 20 fire fighters tackled the blaze at Barlow Mill, Stand Lane, which broke out at 8pm on Saturday. It started in a single storey unit which was used as a workshop storage area.

A large amount of equipment inside, including industrial machinery, a crane and a forklift truck, were destroyed.

Mr Irving said: "The building, along with two portable cabins was completely destroyed. We weren't insured because the building was so old. It's an occupational hazard in the scrap metal business."

Fire crews from Bury, Whitefield and Farnworth spent three hours fighting the blaze. They were assisted by a lighting crew from Marple and officers maintained a presence at the site throughout Sunday to ensure it was completely extinguished.The company itself closed in October but it still owns the site, leasing out buildings to other businesses. None of these were affected by the fire.

Mr Irving said: "We will probably rebuild it, but I don't know when. The people responsible obviously have no brains."

Police have launched an investigation into the fire.

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