Police treating 'lucky escape' house fire as arson

The fire damaged three terraced bungalows

Police are treating a fire that damaged three bungalows as arson.

The fire service said residents were "lucky to escape" from the blaze in Corby, Northamptonshire, on Wednesday.

No-one was injured in the fire, which spread to the buildings from a garden fence.

People living nearby said the flames took hold very quickly.

Northamptonshire Police said the fire was being investigated as an arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.

However, no arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.

Six fire engines attended the scene in Harrogate Court at the height of the fire.

Residents were advised to keep their doors and windows closed as a large flume of smoke appeared in the street.

Crews returned in the evening and again at midnight and 07:00 BST the following morning to check temperature and carry out thermal scans of the properties.

A fundraising campaign has started for one of the residents who is said to be a disabled Falklands veteran who has lost "personal belongings from the army" and was left only "with the clothes on his back".