CIGARETTE butts are believed to have caused a house fire in Burnley.

Two crews from Burnley Fire Station were called to a mid-terraced home in Leyland Road at around 10.40am today.

Both floors of the property were severely smoke damaged.

Acting watch manager Dave Robinson, from Burnley Fire Station, said: “When we arrived we saw a lot of smoke coming from windows on the first floor.

“The front door was locked so we had to force entry. We searched the whole property as persons were reported as being present but luckily there was no-one inside.

“There were a lot of discarded cigarette ends in the ground floor living room and we think that’s how it started. We’re not treating it as suspicious.”