Masked thugs set corner shop on fire before accidentally setting themselves ablaze

An amateur arsonist got instant karma after setting himself alight as he tried to torch a corner shop.

Footage revealed how three men charged into Zaf’s GoLocal store in Manchester on Sunday at around 5.40pm – before they poured fuel on the floor and set it alight.

But the CCTV showed one of the attackers – who was holding a canister of petrol – seemingly set themselves on fire.

And further footage taken outside the premises showed how the thug struggled to extinguish the blaze as they ran away with their two accomplices.

The owner, who only wanted to be known as Zaf, 39, said his two brothers were manning the Manchester shop at the time of the attack.

He said he had no enemies and did not know who was behind it but believed far-right thugs could be responsible.

The men poured flame accelerant on the floor then lit it up (Picture: SWNS)

After the flames erupted, they ran away (Picture: SWNS)

One of the bumbling arsonists seemed to also catch on fire (Picture: SWNS)

Zaf said: ‘We’ve got no indication [who it could be]. But the police mentioned that this has been happening recently. We don’t know if it’s something to do with all the riots that were going on. We don’t know if it’s personal.

‘We’re a big part of the community. When the incident happened, the majority of the estate came to the shop saying, “Are you alright? Is everything alright?”

‘We’re a well-known shop in the Manchester area, and we’ve got a lot of love out there, and we don’t know what could have caused it. I’m just shocked myself and my head’s a bit baffled.’

Despite the damage to his store, Zaf was relieved that no one had been injured in the attack – including a female customer who left just moments earlier.

He added: ‘Thank god no one was hurt and we didn’t have any customers in the store. Thank god that the lady who was the customer before the incident – the blonde one – got out of the shop.

‘Stock, we got insurance for, it can come back, but people can’t come back.’

One man’s arm appeared to be on fire as he fled (Picture: SWNS)

Zaf said he’s lucky customers were not hurt in the chaos (Picture: SWNS)

Zaf said he was not in the store when the arson attack took place on a ‘normal’ Sunday afternoon.

The footage showed a customer paying for items before the three masked men walked up Butler Street, east Manchester, and set the shop ablaze.

Zaf said: ‘The lads behind the counter, they are my brothers, and it was just a normal day. They were just checking the stock. There was the bank holiday on Monday, and then if we needed anything tomorrow, the cash and carry was open and we could still go.

‘One of the lads was waiting near the door and then all of a sudden, those three lads come up, they’ve thrown the petrol on the floor. At first, they couldn’t even put the fire on, and then they ended up burning the shop, and burnt themselves.’

Zaf said his two brothers thankfully managed to extinguish the blaze before it took over the whole building.

He said: ‘They ran straight to the stock room and with their quick thinking, they got water. They had mop buckets in the stock room, they got them out and got the fire out really quickly.’

Zaf said the store’s floor, ceiling and fridges were all damaged in the attack, which he said had caused around £15,000 worth of damage.

But he said the store had now remarkably re-opened, as Greater Manchester Police said it was being investigated and treated as arson.

A spokesperson said: “Officers are investigating an arson at a business on Butler Street in Manchester.

“At around 5:40pm on Sunday 25 August 2024, three unknown men entered the shop and poured a small amount of petrol on the shop floor.

“The fire was extinguished and thankfully, no one was injured and all occupants were safely evacuated.

“Detectives from North Manchester CID are investigating the incident and although no arrests have been made so far, enquiries are ongoing into locating the three men.”

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.