TV appeal into fire that killed Alana and gran
ROADSHOW TO FOCUS ON DEADLY ARSON ATTACK 12 YEARS AGO
DETECTIVES are still searching for the truth 12 years after an arson attack claimed two lives – and left a firefighter with life-changing injuries.
Greater Manchester Police investigators will feature on a TV special this week to discuss one of Bolton’s most terrifying unsolved crimes and make a fresh appeal for new information.
BBC One’s Crimewatch Roadshow Live is returning to screens for a three week run, which will include a reappeal around the fire which killed a woman and her four-year-old granddaughter.
It happened 12 years ago - on the evening of June 23.
An arsonist set fire to a wheelie bin outside a home in Great Lever, Bolton.
It was part of a pattern of similar incidents that had happened in the area. But this one would had a deadly result.
The flames spread to a home and caused an outof-control blaze which led to the death of Hameeda Begum, 71. Weeks later the fire would claim another victim when her granddaughter Alana Mumtaz died in hospital.
On the show, former detective Rav Wilding and co-presenter Michelle Ackerley will speak to Saima Mumtaz, who lost her mother and daughter in the fire.
They will also talk to the GMP team still hoping to find those responsible for the attack.
As well as causing the death of two people, the blaze also left a firefighter with horrific injuries.
Steven Morris bravely returned to the burning home in the hope of rescuing the family. But he suffered 50% burns to his hands, lower back, and legs, when he was caught in a fireball.
GMP officers have since issued fresh appeals for information on the fire, even offering a £50,000 reward for any tips which might help them to crack the case.
It will feature as one of a number of major crimes to be recounted on the show.
Rav and Michelle will be in the studio and new reporter John Paul Davies, a former South Wales Police officer, will travel across the country to interview detectives and find out about the latest crime-fighting tactics.