A joint fire service and police investigation into a suspected arson attack has been launched after firefighters tackled a huge blaze in a Salford park.
Fire crews raced to Buile Hill Park shortly after 6:30pm after a fire broke out at a building within the grounds.
The building was "well alight" when they arrived, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said.
The single-storey building is one of a group of outbuildings close to the derelict Georgian Mansion in the park.
Four fire engines responded and an aerial unit was used to dump water on the blaze from above.
A GMFRS spokeswoman said due to the building being structurally unsafe firefighters could not go inside it and that roof tiles were removed to allow crews to get water inside.
The public can still access the park. The remains of the fire can be seen tonight with some smouldering smoke still coming from the buildings.
However, the main blaze is now under control and the incident is being scaled back with crews damping down.
The area around it remains taped off, however, with police officers manning the cordon.
People were seen running away from the building at the time the blaze broke out.
A spokesman said a joint fire service and police investigation would be carried out.
The Grade II listed Georgian mansion is itself unaffected and has not been damaged.
It previously served as the Lancashire Mining Museum until that closed in 2000.
The building is now lying empty after plans to turn it into a hotel failed to materialise.
