FOUR boys are being sought by police over the Darwen moor fire.

An investigation between the fire service and the police is being carried out into the cause of the blaze which started close to Darwen Tower around 5pm on Tuesday.

Officers would now like to speak to four youths aged around 16 who were seen in the area at the time of the incident.

Reports of smoke on the moors close to Sunnyhurst Lane first reached the emergency services at 5.10pm and by 7pm 50 firefighters were trying to extinguish the flames.

One of the boys is described as having ginger hair, the three others are described as having short, dark hair.

It was also reported that there were two dogs with the group.

A police spokesperson said: “We would like to speak to anyone who noticed anything suspicious in the area around Darwen Tower, the adjacent reservoir and the surrounding streets, including Sunnyhurst Lane and Tockholes Road around 5pm on Tuesday.

“We understand people may be reluctant to come forward during this time especially if they have not been following the government guidelines about staying at home but I would reassure them that our immediate concern is to find out what happened here and I would urge anyone who has any information, no matter how insignificant they may feel it to be, to come forward and speak to us.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact 101 or 3034@lancashire.pnn.police.uk quoting log number 1139 of April 7.