Burnley family in breakfast drama as kitchen ceiling falls down (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Burnley family in breakfast drama as kitchen ceiling falls down

10:00am Friday 22nd June 2012 in Burnley By Chris Gee, Reporter

A FAMILY-of-six had a rude awakening when the ceiling of their kitchen collapsed yesterday.

The incident happened in Bar Street, Duke Bar, Burnley, at 7am, when masonry and plaster crashed to the floor as the kitchen ceiling partially disintegrated.

Firefighters said the family living at the end terrace narrowly escaped serious injury during the breakfast-time collapse.

Fortunately they were not in the room at the rented property at the time of the incident.

Firefighters from Burnley were called to the house, making the area safe and checking the remaining structure.

A spokesman for the fire service said: “The family was very lucky. If that ceiling hit anyone they would have been badly injured.

“The plaster had rotted away and the ceiling dropped down and frightened them to death. They woke up to a big bang and plenty of dust.”

Yesterday, afternoon, contractors were at the house installing a new ceiling and checking plaster elsewhere in the property.

It is thought that the incident could have been caused by a leaking water pipe.

It is the second drama of Bar Street in days after firefighters earlier attended three terraced homes which suffered serious fire damage after they were set alight following a break-in last week.