Man set on fire while asleep on Grafton Street

Gardaí say they are following a lead into an incident yesterday in which a man sleeping in a doorway in Dublin city centre was set on fire.

The man, who was not homeless but had fallen asleep in the doorway on Grafton Street, is in a stable condition in hospital suffering burns to his arms and legs.

A Garda spokesman said he was set alight by two men in their twenties at around 5.30 a.m. He said there were a number of witnesses to the attack and they have good descriptions of the two men, who ran off toward St Stephen's Green.

The flames were doused by passing milkmen, who poured milk on the victim.

The spokesman said they are studying CCTV footage from cameras on the street.

The Simon Community charity for the homeless said: "This horrific and senseless attack is barbaric and highlights the risks to people homeless and sleeping rough. Whilst it is understood that this man was not homeless it is also clear that his attackers were unaware of this at the time of the assault".