Two held on suspicion of Rochdale tower block arson attack

A 57-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries in the blaze

A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of arson at a block of flats, where one man suffered life-threatening burns.

The 57-year-old was seriously injured after a fire broke out on the fifth floor at Mardyke in Rochdale in the early hours of Monday.

Six other residents were treated for smoke inhalation at the block, known as one of the town's Seven Sisters.

The man, 42, and woman, 30, remain in custody.

The Seven Sisters are a group of landmark tower blocks built in Rochdale in the early 1960s.

Four of the residential blocks face demolition under regeneration plans for College Bank although 13-storey Mardyke is not among them.