And smoke alarms which could have saved Louise, Hayley and Gemma Waddington had been disconnected when the batteries started to run low and beep, the hearing was told.

Today, the girls' father said he was not convinced by the findings of inquiry and said the family's quest for answers would continue.

Coroner Richard Taylor said the deaths should act as a warning that electrical appliances should never be taken for granted.

The blaze started in the Waddington's three-bedroomed, mid-terace home in Lancaster Drive, Hapton, just after 11.30pm on February 6 last year.

Louise, 11, and seven-year-old Gemma tried to flee the blaze after their mother Jayne shouted at them to get out of the house but were overcome by thick black smoke.

Firefighters found their bodies on the landing. Hayley, 10, was found in the front room, where she had fallen asleep on the settee waiting for her father Barry to come home from his job as a taxi driver.

Mrs Waddington managed to escape by jumping from an upstairs window. Neighbours raised the alarm and smashed the back door, fanning the flames, the inquest was told. They were beaten back by the ferocity of the blaze.

Post mortem examinations found that the sisters, who were pupils at Padiham County Primary School, died of smoke inhalation.

Forensic scientists said the cause of the blaze was a build up of fluff in the dryer, which ignited the machine, and not an electrical fault, the inquest heard.

The inquest was told that a ventilation hose which should have taken hot air from the dryer outside was often left to circulate air round the kitchen and may have become constricted, leading to the build-up.

Burnley fire station officer Dave Jackson said the fire, which started in the kitchen, took hold quickly because of the number of fire hazards, such as clothes, in the room.

Mrs Waddington, 45, told the inquest that she used the appliance several times a day and would open the door when it was on during the day.

She added that she put clothes on to dry at about 11.15pm and went to bed at about 11.30pm when the cycle had 15 minutes to run, which she sometimes did.

Mr Jackson told the inquest that he believed batteries fitted in the two smoke alarms were the ones that came with the detectors.

He said the alarms were fitted in January 2002 after an incident in the house next door and the batteries would have lasted a year.

However, he said he believed the power supply had been disconnected when the alarms started to beep - a warning that the batteries needed to be replaced.

Recording a verdict of accidental death for all three girls, East Lancashire coroner Richard Taylor said: "If only thing comes out of this inquest it may be we remember that electrical appliances should never be taken for granted as most of us do.

"Hopefully this may prevent similar tragedies like this happening in the future.

"The fire from the tumble dryer could not ever be foreseen. It was a piece of electrical equipment which was used on a daily basis."

After the hearing, Barry Waddington, 41, said he would continue to press to unearth what he believed was the truth regarding the blaze.

Mr and Mrs Waddington are to take advice over plans to launch legal action against the company which sold them the tumble dryer.

He said: "We have had to wait 16 months for this and next week we will finally be able to get the death certificates. That will bring this part to an end.

"We are taking it one day at a time. You have good days and you have bad days."

Mr Waddington said he was expecting the verdict but he claimed he still believed the cause of the fire could have been an electrical fault.