FIRE crews in Lancashire are urging all residents living next door to an unoccupied property to check they have a working smoke alarm.

The warning comes after a fire started in the early hours of Sunday, when a burning item was posted through the letterbox of an empty property.

Station manager Frank Robinson said: “Thankfully a passer-by was alerted to the fire by the smell of smoke and so it didn’t have chance to develop and spread to any neighbouring properties, but as the property was empty this could have easily been a different story.”