A TOTAL of 20 guests had to be evacuated from Stanley House Hotel and Spa after a tumble dryer caught fire.

Four fire crews from Blackburn were called out to the incident at Further Lane in Mellor at around 1.30am.

Firefighters said a tumble dryer in the staff area had accidentally caught fire, causing severe smoke damage to the room and corridor.

Guests had to be evacuated while fire crews entered and it took them approximately one hour to deal with the incident.

A fire service spokesman said: "The tumble dryer had caught fire in the staff area, it was an accident.

"About 20 or so guests had to be evacuated.

"Initially someone was able to smell smoke and called 999.

"The tumble destroyer was completely destroyed.

"It was all in one room but then there was some smoke damage up the corridor.

"Luckily it was in the staff area and not in the residential area."

Nobody was injured in the blaze.

Philip Wharton of Stanley House Hotel and Spa, said: “At approximately 1am on Tuesday morning, our night manager was alerted to a smell of smoke from a tumble dryer in a locker room.

“This set off our full fire alarm and we evacuated the hotel.

"We called the fire service who attended at 1:30am.

“After accounting for all guests and inspection of the locker room and hotel, the fire service deemed it safe for staff and guests to return to the hotel at approximately 2am.

“We are now investigating the cause of the smoke.

"We would like to thank our guests for their patience and fire service for their help.”