A TERRIFIED family fled from their home after an arsonist set fire to a toddler's pushchair.

The attacker struck at a house in Iffley Road, Oxford, in the early hours of this morning.

The pushchair in the hallway of the house - which is divided into flats - was filled with newspaper and set ablaze.

An Asian couple living in the first-floor flat escaped with their three young children on to the flat roof of a neighbouring property.

Fire Station Officer Peter Graham said it was still unknown whether it was a deliberate attack on the family.

But the blaze brought disturbing echoes of the arson attack on an Asian family in nearby Magdalen Road last August, which cost the lives of

15-year-old Majid Khan and his nine-year-old sister Anum.

Mr Graham said: "The pushchair was in a communal hall used by all the occupants of the building.

"We believe the front door of the house may even have been left open. The pushchair and papers meant there was combustible material to hand.

"Fortunately, the fire had no time to develop. A fire crew was returning from another fire and we were there within four minutes. The damage was negligible."

The father of the family, who asked not to be named, said he knew of no-one with a grudge against them and believed drunks may have been responsible.

No-one was injured in the blaze, although the children were given oxygen by paramedics. Thames Valley Police confirmed the fire was suspicious and a 37-year-old man was later arrested and was being questioned at St Aldate's police station in Oxford.

Two other occupants were able to stay in their flats.

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