THREE puppies died in a blaze which swept through a house in Rossendale.

Police and fire officers were called to Rosehill, off Scout Road, Whitewell Bottom, Waterfoot, just before 1am today after reports someone was trapped in the house.

The three-storey end terrace house was well alight from the ground floor to the roof when they arrived.

Firefighters searched the building and found no-one inside but they did discover two adult and three puppy Staffordshire Bull Terrier dogs. The pups died.

The older dogs, who were in the kitchen, suffered smoke inhalation and burns but survived. They were taken away for treatment by a vet. Sadly the puppies which were on the first floor died.

Two fire engines from Rawtenstall and the fire brigade's incident support unit from Accrington attended. Leading fire fighter Gary Hargreaves, of Rawtenstall fire station, said: "The fire started on the first floor and spread down to the ground floor and into the attic. We were there five hours."

The blaze, which caused substantial damage to the house, was not being treated as suspicious. It is believed to have been started by an electrical fault.