RESIDENTS have spoken of the moment they helped to rescue their neighbour whose clothes had set on fire.

Mohammed Naeem was at home in Bromley Street, Blackburn when he spotted his neighbour, a woman in her late 50s, crossing the road with smoke coming from her burning clothes.

The 39-year-old said he was shocked to see her legs, hair and back on fire.

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He said: “We saw her coming out of her house and knocking on the door of a house across the road.

“They were going to try and pour water over her. So I ran out and gave her a blanket.

“Her clothes were burnt, her skin was burnt and her legs were burnt.”

One neighbour said: “There was a woman knocking loudly on the door so me and my partner went downstairs.

“We couldn’t believe she was burning. We asked if she wanted water but she didn’t seem to know what was happening.

“I called the fire and ambulance. A man grabbed a blanket to cover her.

“I tried to speak with her but I don’t think she spoke English.

“She asked me if she would die and I just told her no, everything would be fine.”

Residents used glasses of water to douse the flames and a blanket while they waited for the emergency services to arrive.

Police said the woman was first taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital before being transferred to Wythenshawe Hospital’s specialist burns unit.

Her condition last night was described as ‘serious’, firefighters said.

Fire crews from Blackburn were called to a report of a house fire at around 6pm on Sunday but said they found a woman on fire when they arrived.

A Lancashire Fire Service spokesman said: “An investigation has now been launched into how the fire started.”

A police spokesman said: “We were called at around 6.30pm last night by the fire service who were requesting our assistance. The lady was moved to Wythenshawe Hospital where they have specialist care for burns.

“She is in hospital in a serious condition.”