Man arrested following incident at Blackburn shopping centre

Police were called to reports of an arson at The Mall

Author: Louisa KingPublished 18th Jul 2023
Last updated 18th Jul 2023

Lancashire Police have arrested a man following an incident at a shopping centre in Blackburn.

Officers were called to The Mall at 11.54am today (July 18) to reports of arson.

It was reported that a man had thrown a lit object inside the Boots store, which hit a woman. She attended hospital but her injuries are not thought to be serious.

Following enquiries, a 52-year-old man from Blackburn has been arrested on suspicion of Criminal Damage - Arson Endangering Life and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He remains in custody at this time.

DI Heather Martin, from Blackburn CID, said: “Our officers quickly attended the scene and made an arrest.

“I want to reassure the public that this is being treated as an isolated incident and there is a dedicated team of officers assigned to this case.

“Our neighbourhood officers will continue to patrol Blackburn town centre, as they normally do, and I would encourage anybody with concerns to approach them.” Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.