New blaze blow for sofa firm

FIREFIGHTERS worked on the blaze in the early hours

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A SUSPECTED arson attack overnight has destroyed a Royton mill and a thriving furniture company.

The fire was the second at Oldham Sofa Company at Holden Fold Mill in two months.

Fire crews were called after midnight and found the entire single-storey building alight.

Firefighters spent hours getting the blaze under control and are expected to be at the mill for the rest of the day damping down before an investigation can begin.

An arson attack on the company in May left the business with £15,000 worth of damage. The cost of the latest incident is expected to be significantly more.

Owner Dale Wild said: ““This time they managed to totally destroy the building. We had only just got fully operational after last month’s fiasco. But we will not be beaten.”

The business, which opened a year ago, had built up an impressive reputation and had recently opened a shop in Royton.

Customers will be contacted by Mr Wild, who is hoping to get back in business as soon as possible.

“Customers should please bear with us while we restart our operations. This make take a few weeks as we will have to beg or borrow new equipment.”

An investigation by the fire service and police is expected to start today. A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson and remains in police custody.