A NEIGHBOUR has told how a 15-year-old boy was dragged from his burning home after family members tried to rescue him.

Uzma Younis was speaking after firefighters said the teenager was lucky to be alive following the blaze at his home in Persia Street, Accrington.

Firefighters were called the house at about 6.30am on Saturday after a blaze started in the kitchen of the terraced property.

Mrs Younis, 37, who lives opposite the home, said she was awoken after hearing the boy's family shouting in the street telling the boy to get out of the house.

The family friend said the boy was called Hamad Zahanzeb and was a pupil at Moorhead High School, Accrington.

She said: "I lifted up my curtains and could see smoke coming out of the house.

"The dad was trying to get into the house but his daughter was pushing him away.

"The fire brigade then turned up and pulled him out straight away.

"He was covered in black smoke."

Paramedics treated the teenager at the scene for smoke inhalation before taking him to hospital.

Yesterday he was being treated in the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury.

Mrs Younis said the boy's family had spent the weekend at his bedside and it was expected he would make a full recovery.

She added: "I spoke to the family and they said he has woken up and he is going to be okay."

Fire bosses have launched an investigation following the blaze which was not been treated as suspicious.

Firefighters have said It is not yet known what sparked the fire but Mrs Younis said a fault with a fridge freezer was thought to be responsible.

The family live in two terraced houses next door to each other which can be accessed through an internal door, Mrs Younis said.

Craig Etherington, watch manager at Hyndburn Fire Station said the boy's parents, who raised the alarm were in the other property to their son.

He said the house in which the fire started was not fitted with a smoke alarm.

Mr Etherington said: "It was the swift actions of firefighters that saved the boy's life.

"It is the smoke that kills people not the fire.

"The boy has been very lucky."

To get a free home fire safety check which includes a free smoke alarm contact the fire service on freephone 0800 169 11 25.