PEOPLE who broke into an empty house and started a fire could have been killed, according to a firefighter.

Station Officer Steve Walton said the arsonists, believed to be children, were lucky not to have died in the fire yesterday afternoon, inHarcourt Road, South Bank.

He said: "When we arrived at the house, it was boarded up and looked secure from the front. We had to force entry. Then we discovered a small window at the rear that had been broken.

"We had to conduct a detailed search to make sure that no one was trapped inside. A fire like that can develop very quickly, and people can discover that their escape route has been blocked.

"The concern was that if someone had been stuck inside and had inhaled smoke, it could have been a fatality."