A FIVE-year-old boy playing with a cigarette lighter sparked a blaze which tore through his home.

Kyle Lyver Clements and his mum's boyfriend Shaun Lee were last night being treated in the Royal Blackburn Hospital after the fire in Stansfeld Street, in the Griffin area of Blackburn.

He was playing with the lighter in the front room and set fire to a settee.

Mr Lee, 23, was in the kitchen when the smoke alarm sounded at 10.30am yesterday.

He managed to grab Kyle and escape to safety.

Minutes later firefighters arrived and broke down the front door to get inside and tackle the blaze.

Firefighters said the downstairs of the house had been left wrecked.

They said the 'horrendous' blaze could easily have proved 'lethal'.

Now Kyle's mum Marie Lyver has warned other parents to keep children away from 'anything that could cause fire'.

The 37-year-old cleaner at Blackburn's Mall Shopping Centre broke down in tears as she recalled the moment she heard that her home was engulfed in flames.

She said: “I was at work and I got a text from a friend who works at a local taxi firm saying that my house was on fire.

“I rushed home and there were firefighters, police and ambulances everywhere and my home was ruined.”

Last night, both Kyle and Mr Lee remained in hospital suffering from severe smoke inhalation.

Miss Lyver said: “Everything has been totally ruined but the main thing is that my child is still alive because all the furniture and stuff can be replaced.

“I will be talking to him when he gets out of hospital about playing with lighters and matches and how dangerous it is.”

“My son could have been killed today in this fire.

"People need to make sure that their children don’t play with matches or lighters because fires can destroy everything.”

Fire chiefs also warned people not to leave lighters and matches in reach of children.

Paul Guinan, crew manager at Blackburn Fire Station, said: “This fire was horrendous and could have been lethal.

"There is no doubt that somebody could have died as it was extremely severe and it shows the dangers of playing with matches and lighters.

“We would urge people to make sure that they take all the necessary precautions like making sure escape routes are kept free so that people don’t get trapped and most importantly they should have fire alarms fitted in every room.

“In this case, the man and the young boy had a very lucky escape and it should act as a warning to others who allow their children to play with dangerous flammable objects.”