Carpet shop accidentally set alight by council workers

It has been reported this week that council workers in Oldham managed to set a carpet store on fire as they attempted to remove weeds from the pavements outside.

Members of staff from Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council were given flame guns to clean up the streets as they attempted to put themselves forward in the Britain In Bloom competition.

However, when carrying out this work they managed to set the front of Roll End Carpets alight.

Jon Riley, 31, whose family own the shop, was present when this happened and he exited the building to see the flames outside the door. He was relieved that the store hadn’t been burnt to the ground.

He said:

“They sprayed [weedkiller] first and then these two blokes came with these blowtorches.

“I didn’t pay too much attention but about five minutes later I could smell burning. I went outside and flames were going up the shop front.

“The blokes were down the road doing somewhere else. I shouted to them and they came running back. We got the fire extinguisher out and then the fire service came.”

The council have offered to pay for the damage to the shop while an investigation is underway into the incident.