A PRESTON minister said 'divine intervention' was the only thing that stopped his church being burned to the ground after youngsters attacked it with a petrol bomb.

Fire officers say the blaze could have gutted Tanterton's Christian Fellowship centre in Ingol, Preston if they had not have been called immediately.

Miraculously, the explosive caused only minor damage to the roof of the church on Kidsgrove.

Rev Antony Wareham was working there on Monday evening (September 8) when he saw flames outside. He tackled a small fire on the ground but when he looked heavenwards, he saw smoke from the roof spiralling into the sky.

The Reverend said: "If the fire had smouldered away unnoticed the centre could have been destroyed. There's usually nobody in the building on Monday evening so I suppose it was divine intervention that I was here."

Peter Holtom of Fulwood fire station, Preston, said: "It took half an hour to deal with the fire and damage was minimal but it could have been much worse."

Police say teenagers were probably responsible for the attack. A witness said a youth wearing jeans and a yellow T-shirt ran away from the scene.

But that hasn't strayed the Reverend from his path to work with youngsters in the community.

A new teenage club is set to start up at the church, providing a non-alcoholic cafe, snooker, table tennis and bar games.

Rev Wareham said: "There are a lot of good kids in the area - the trouble makers are in a minority. We won't be deterred from working with them."

Eleven to 16-year-olds can meet at the church on September 25 at 8pm.

People who saw anything suspicious in the area at around 7.20pm last Monday should contact Preston Police on 01772 203203.

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