A blaze which ripped through the living room of a Brierfield house is being treated as “suspicious”.
The fire broke out in the Cambridge Street property around 4-10am this morning.
Flames took hold of a settee in the front room of the house before neighbours raised the alarm.
Three fire crews were called out to the blaze in the mid-terraced house but there were no occupants inside.
Firefighters managed to contain the fire to one room before extinguishing the flames.
The settee and living room were severely damaged by fire and the rest of the property suffered some smoke damage.
A spokesman from Nelson Fire Station said: “The fire is being treated as suspicious. An investigation is on-going into the cause of the fire and the police are involved.”