POLICE are hunting an arsonist after burning material was pushed through the front door of a house.

The mid-terrace property in Duke Street, Heron Cross, below, was set alight on Monday.

Investigations have revealed the small fire broke out behind the front door of the empty house, caused by something being pushed through the letterbox.

Firefighters from Longton forced their way in to extinguish the flames.

Crews called in Staffordshire Police after ruling arson was the cause of the blaze. Officers are now appealing for witnesses to contact them with any information about the incident.

One female resident, who did not want to be named, said: "I saw the fire brigade arriving and going into the house.

"It has been empty for a long time. I've lived here for 37 years and we've never had any trouble like this before.

"I believe a young lad owns the house and he's been doing it up. I'm a bit shaken up by it."

An 83-year-old female neighbour said: "The first I heard about it was the noise of the firefighters breaking the door down.

"I couldn't see any flames or smoke. I just saw lots of people out on the street and some young lads hanging about watching the firefighters.

"It's a bit frightening to have something like this happen in your street."

The front door of the house has been boarded up and police have visited the scene.

A police spokesman said: "Police were called to the address in Duke Street just after 9.40pm by the fire service. Some material had been put through the letter box.

"Officers have carried out house-to-house inquiries in the street and are due to meet with the owners of the house.

"We are appealing to anyone with information about the incident, or anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area around the time of the fire at 9.40pm to get in touch, quoting incident 0866 of March 15."

To contact the police, call 0300 123 4455 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.