The fire was started in a ground floor flat in Windermere Road at about 7.15pm yesterday.

Leading firefighter Matt Martin said: "We believe that some kind of accelerant was poured through the letter box and set fire to. Fortunately there was very little flammable material in the kitchen so that although the curtains went up in flames, once they had burned there was not much else to catch fire. There was heavy smoke damage."

The occupant of the flat, a young single woman, was not present when the arsonist attacked but returned home while firefighters from Whitley Wood and Wokingham Road fire stations were

tackling the blaze.

Scenes of crime police officers and investigators from the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue service will be examining the scene of the fire today.

n AN elderly woman was treated for smoke inhalation after a blaze at her Sonning Common bungalow.

Firefighters from Henley and Caversham were called to the fire at Josey Close, at 11am yesterday where a small fire was filling her kitchen with smoke. The OAP had to be rescued by police and firefighters and was treated at the scene by paramedics.