A fire at Everton Women’s stadium that badly damaged a stand is being investigated as a suspected arson attack.

Fire crews were called to the 2,200-capacity Walton Hall Park ground in Liverpool at about 18:30 GMT on Friday.

They found scaffolding and plastic netting alight and extinguished the blaze in about 30 minutes.

Merseyside Police said it was carrying out a joint investigation with the fire service.

The club said it was assessing the damage but hoped Wednesday’s game with Chelsea Women would still go ahead.