AN arson attack on a garden shed has left an elderly Runcorn couple distraught.

Grandparents James Haste, 78, and his wife Joan, 79, were asleep in bed when a blaze erupted behind their house on Sandy Lane.

The fire broke out at 12.30am.

A neighbour managed to raise the alarm and they were led to safety.

The couple’s daughter Deborah Moss said: “Mum and dad are very upset about this.

“They were up all night and are absolutely shattered.

“Dad uses the shed as a workshop. He does a bit of woodwork and now everything has gone, all his tools and equipment.”

Crews wearing breathing apparatus used a hose reel jet to put out the fire and then damped the area down.

The incident was handed over to the police as it is suspected the fire was started deliberately.

Neighbour Talida Pinzariu, who spotted the fire, said: “Everybody was sleeping. It was good that I was awake so I was able to alert my neighbours.

“It was a big fire because it was a wooden shed.”

Anyone with information can call Cheshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.