THIS historic newspaper clipping of the burning of Cockhedge Mill in 1872 was bought off internet auction site e-bay by Bewsey man Mark McGlinchey.

The 41-year-old is interested in historic pictures of the town and came across the clipping from the Illustrated London News.

The Rolleston Street resident is thinking about framing the illustration - which shows one of the most dramatic fires to ever hit Warrington, and one that could be seen from as far away as Wigan.

The alarm was raised at around 8pm on Saturday, July 8, and thousands of people watched from the factory gates.

The mill employed 900 people and was nearly 75 years old, and the last one in Warrington to survive the decline in the cotton trade following the 1812 war with America.

It was a major landmark in the town centre.

People smashed windows to let the pumps get water in but the Warrington Guardian reported: "The effect of this folly was immediately apparent for, with the increased current of air, large quantities of smoke came through the broken windows."

The original report said from £50,000 to £80,000 worth of property was destroyed - worth around £4.2m to £6.8m in today's money.

The fire engines of the time - Waterwitch, Nile and Duke - tried to contain the blaze and, despite the firemen bravely balancing on a gantry to try to save the east end of the mill, they could not stop the main fire.

"At 9.30pm a portion of the rook fell with a terrible crash, casting up myriads of sparks," reported the Guardian.

The fire finally petered out in the early hours of Sunday.