Arsonists attacked a block of flats in Coseley filling the complex with thick black smoke and leaving two people needing medical treatment.

A plastic garden chair was set alight and thrown into the three-storey building in Bridge Street. The fire was started just past midnight. Two people were treated at the scene by paramedics.

One, a 22-year-old man, needed hospital treatment. Police have today arrested a 21-year-old woman on suspicion of arson.

Residents were alerted by a smoke alarm and got outside before firefighters arrived. Watch commander Nigel Walker, from Walsall Fire Station, said: “We searched the property. It was a small fire but it looked like it had been caused by a burning plastic chair.

“There is a lot of smoke damage in the corridors of the flats.

“The smoke alarm gave people early warning of the fire and this is why we stress how important it is to have smoke alarms.”

West Midlands Police have confirmed they are treated the fire as arson.