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A woman was left living in dangerous conditions following a suspected arson attack on her Blackpool home.

Widow Sue Wooley, was asleep in her living room when her little dog Cassie, 6, woke her up barking at around 5am on Thursday (August 10).

Unable to get back to sleep, she went to her kitchen to make a cup of tea.

It was there where she spotted the fire at the back door of her home in Buchanan Street.

A widow was left living in dangerous conditions following a suspected arson attack in Blackpool

“I could see the flickering on the wall and when I looked over to the door I could see the flames coming up,” she said.

“I couldn’t find my keys anywhere, so I opened the side window as I’m only slim so I could get out. I knew I couldn’t get out of the front door as the lock was damaged and it was another one of those jobs that needed to be done.”

After crawling out of the window, Sue realised the bin near her patio doors was on fire.

She attempted to move it away from her property with a broom, but the flames were too intense.

Unable to find her keys, Sue escaped by climbing out of a window

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Sue added: “A fella saw me climbing out of the window and I said I was going in to find my dog, but he grabbed hold of me and stopped me.

“I asked him to phone the fire brigade so he did, and about four or five fire engines turned up. Luckily they managed to find Cassie and rescue her for me.”

A 64-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage – arson endangering life – following the incident.

Sue spotted the fire after being woken up by her dog barking

He was later released on bail pending further enquiries.

The fire left Sue with a hole in her roof, no electricity or gas and thousands of pounds worth of damage.

She could not keep up with her home insurance payments after her husband died, meaning she was unable to afford the repairs.

Her neighbours helped her as much as they could, but they were unable to fix the major structural problems.

A GoFundMe page was later set up by a friend in an attempt to help Sue raise money to fix her home.

Helen Stanhope, the organiser of the fundraiser, said: “This is absolutely devastating.

“While she should be enjoying her retirement worry free, she’s faced with this huge event.

“Please spare anything you can. Every penny counts to helping Sue start to rebuild her home.”

You can visit the GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/f/help-to-repair-the-roof-and-replace-furniture

Blackpool woman, 69, and her dog left living in dangerous conditions following suspected arson attack in Buchanan Street