A MAN who suffered serious burns in an arson attack in Whitecross has fallen into a critical condition, police say.

The 52-year-old male and his dog were rescued from a fire in a flat on Whitecross Road at around 11.30pm on Tuesday, September 10.

He was previously described as being in a stable condition in hospital.

But his health has since deteriorated, and he is now in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

The victim and his Staffordshire bull terrier, called Ty, were unconscious when firefighters arrived at the first-floor apartment.

Ty regained consciousness after being given oxygen, and his condition is not believed to be life-threatening.

A Cheshire Police spokesman said today: “The man is now described as being in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

“He was unconscious when firefighters arrived at the first floor flat, as was the dog.

“The Staffordshire bull terrier regained consciousness after being given oxygen, via a pet oxygen mask, by firefighters and was taken to an out of hours vets by an RSPCA inspector.

“The dog, called Ty, has since been moved to a different vets.

“His condition is not believed to be life threatening.”

Investigators believe that the blaze was started deliberately and have appealed for information from members of the public.

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Sergeant Darren Reid had earlier said: “A man is in hospital with serious injuries as a result of this incident.

“I would like to reassure the community that we are doing everything we can to establish how the fire started, working alongside colleagues from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.

“As part our investigation we are appealing for anyone who believes they have information or footage that may be relevant to the fire to get in touch with the team here at Warrington CID.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Cheshire Police on 101, quoting incident number IML509950, or to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.