AN elderly disabled woman was saved from serious harm in a house fire thanks to her smoke alarm.

The 81-year-old, who has a visual impairment and mobility problems, left a pan of oil on a burning oven hob at her home in Wordsworth Street, Burnley, on Saturday morning.

Smoke from the pan triggered the alarm and, as the woman could not tell where the problem was coming from, she telephoned her daughter to get help.

The woman was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.

A spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said: “This shows the importance of having a smoke alarm fitted in a property.

“There could have been much worse implications here.”