A BLAZE in Great Lever last night could have been started by homeless people trying to keep warm, say firefighters.

But the state of the building is now so dangerous that the fire service has so far been unable to go in to find out whether anyone was trapped and died in the blaze at the former library.

Until they can go in the building, they cannot confirm if anyone was inside at the time.

The Bolton News:

The former Great Lever library in Bradford Road caught fire at around 11.30pm last night.

But fire crews have been unable to enter the building and search for people because the roof is liable to collapse.

Crews from Bolton and Farnworth battled the blaze for hours last night and brought it under control around 5am.

Firefighters extinguished the fire but were unable to gain access to the inside because the structure of the building has been compromised.

Watch manager Mark Anderson said: "We are concerned that there could be people in there.

"If they are, they will be dead, but we can't confirm this until we can gain access.

"The structure of the building, especially the roof and bell tower, has been severely compromisd.

"We've been told it is not safe to enter. We're only going to be able to enter once the bell tower is removed and the roof secured."

The Bolton News:

The fire officer said he believes the fire was started deliberately.

He said: "In my professional opinion, the fire was started deliberately. It could have been vagrants, they might have started a fire to keep themselves warm.

"Or it could have been kids messing around. But our main priority now is to make sure the building is safe to enter and then we can investigate further."

The fire service has asked Bolton Council and the police for help with traffic management and Bradford Road is expected to remain closed until later this evening.

Electricity to the building has been switched off but fire crews do not believe an electrical fault caused the fire.

The Bolton News:

Watch manager Mark Anderson added: "The building will have to come down. The damage is extensive, there's no doubt it will have to come down."

Five fire engines from Bolton, Farnworth and Hindley attended the blaze through the night.

In addition, two aerial appliances were used to fight the fire from above roof level.

Adrian Edgar, who lives across the road, said: "I heard a commotion outside about midnight.

"When I looked out the window, I couldn't believe it. The old library was in flames. The bell tower was like a flute, with all the smoke coming up out of it."

The Bolton News:

Mr Edgar said he has seen people climbing on the roof and stealing slate tiles in recent weeks.

"I'm not completely surprised to be honest. We've seen people climbing on the roof and taking tiles and we've also seen kids messing about, trying to break in.

"It attracts a lot of people because it's empty. It's a shame, it was such a nice old building."

Another neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, said he has seen teenagers setting off fireworks behind the building in the past few days.

He said: "There's always kids knocking about near the library, trying to get in and throwing stones at the windows.

"I've even seen them setting off fireworks right next to it. It was an accident waiting to happen."