A man has been rushed to hospital after a house fire was allegedly started deliberately while two children slept inside in a "shocking attack".
Police and firefighters raced to the scene after reports of the fire on Huyton House Road in Merseyside at around 1.35am today, Wednesday, July 5.
The man was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation. Reports suggest that two men approached the ground floor window of the house and used a brick to smash it before pouring accelerant inside and setting it alight.
Emergency services who attended the incident found four people had been evacuated from the property, including two adults and two children, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Forensic officers have since arrived at the scene and are focusing their activity on one property, the one which appears to be fire damaged.
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Police have been seen taking pictures of the smashed front window and black burn marks on the outside of the property.
It is thought those responsible left on bikes in the direction of Liverpool Road. Police said they believe the attack was targeted.
Officers have been seen going house-to-house and speaking to witnesses and looking for CCTV. A cordon has also been put in place.
Detective Inspector James Rotheram from Merseyside Police said: "This was a shocking attack on a family home and it is only by sheer luck that nobody was injured or even killed. We know the community will be rightly shocked by what happened and we also know that they may have the answers to what happened and who was involved.
"We are carrying out a number of lines of enquiry but I would ask for anyone who knows anything to contact us as a matter of urgency. We are particularly asking for any taxi or delivery drivers who have a dashcam and were in the area to check their footage to see if they have captured anything significant to contact us.
"Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 23000602899."
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