THREE drunken men started a fire when they lit a barbecue in a park after midnight.

Firefighters were called to Pit Top Park, near Bank Hall in Burnley at 12.30am yesterday after the barbecue set fire to grass.

Watch manager Neil Ashworth from Burnley station said: “Lighting a barbecue in a public park at that time was very dangerous and irresponsible.

“Fire and alcohol is never a good mix.”