Sleeping bag set on fire with homeless man inside

A man has been arrested after setting a man's sleeping bag on fire in Harpurhey.

Police were called to Harpurhey Shopping Centre just before 5am on Sunday morning after receiving reports of a serious assault.

The victim suffered no injuries but his clothing was damaged by the fire.

A 27-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and is in custody for questioning.

Detective Inspector Tony Platten, of GMP’s City of Manchester division, said: “This was a shocking crime which could have caused substantial injury to the victim and as such and as such I want to reassure the community and the wider public that we are treating this very seriously.

“Please let it be known that this behaviour will not be tolerated in Greater Manchester, and we are doing all we can to bring those responsible to justice.

Whilst we’ve made an arrest we are still appealing for witnesses as our investigation does not stop here. If anyone has any information please do not hesitate to get in touch.”

Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 63985, quoting incident number 2152 of 17/11/2019. Reports can be made anonymously to Crimestoppers to 0800 555 111.