Manchester arsonists set themselves on fire by mistake as they target Ancoats shop

The staff member, who does not want to be named, told the BBC he had “no idea” why the shop was targeted.

He said the store had never faced any major incident in Ancoats, where it had operated for about 10 years.

Sunday was usually a “quiet day”, he added, with the arsonists turning up “out of the blue”.

“I was behind the counter and they poured petrol on the floor and lit it up,” he said.

“Rather than staying put, being scared and freezing, we just moved and did something by putting the flames out with a fire extinguisher.

“I’m just glad there were no customers in the shop as they could have got scared.”

Emergency services attended and said no-one was injured and no arrests had yet been made.

Greater Manchester Police said an investigation was under way and appealed for information, adding that “enquiries are ongoing into locating the three men”.

The shopkeeper said the incident was over in “about 10 seconds”, but parts of the ceiling, counter and floor were damaged.

He said the shop reopened shortly after,”to show we’re not scared, not intimidated”.