A COUPLE managed to get themselves and their four children to safety after a fire was deliberately started at their Clock Face home.

The couple, who sleep downstairs, were awoken at 3am on Wednesday, November 5 by the sound of liquid being splashed around the front door of their terraced home in Autumn Way. They rushed upstairs to awaken their children but as they got them to the back of the house, a fire started at the front. Fortunately, no one was injured and the family were temporarily re-housed at the Stakis Hotel.

A later examination of the scene by police revealed traces of a suspected flammable substance and they are now treating the case as arson. A spokesman said: "It is fortunate that the adult occupiers slept downstairs and were able to evacuate the family prior to the fire starting, thus averting a potentially more serious incident."

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