A COUPLE have spoken of their horror after the house next door was destroyed by fire.

Mukhtar Ali, 29, and his 26-year-old wife, Rozina, feared the flames would wreck their home in Martindale Close, Blackburn.

The couple, who had only lived in the house for five months, were staying in Wales when police called them to say the roof of their house had been damaged in the blaze.

Mr Ali, an NHS a primary care support officer, said: “We have no power so we can’t live here for a while. We are staying in a hotel.

“There’s damage to the roof, water damage on the ceiling upstairs and the house reeks of smoke.

“We were really scared when we got the call and drove home immediately, thinking all our belongings were going to be damaged.”

Six fire engines and two support vehicles were called to the blaze at 7.50am on Sunday.

A fire service spokesman said no one was inside the house next door to the Alis' home during the fire.

Every room in the house was badly damaged and due to the intensity of the fire, the roof collapsed.

Firefighters used an aerial ladder to help gain an overview of the damage and make the house safe. The last firefighters came away from the house at 6pm, almost 10 hours after arriving.

A police spokesman said the fire had been caused by an electrical fault and officers were investigating.

Mr Ali said firefighters tried to break through the front door before cutting the back gate open to get into their garden to stop the blaze spreading.

Mr Ali added: “We are so thankful we were not in the house that night. The fire could have spread inside our house, not just in the roof.

“We might not have got out with all the smoke. It’s scary to think what might have happened.

“The fire service said if the fire had been left any longer it would have destroyed our roof too.”

Electricity North West staff were at the site to assist the fire service with turning off the electricity supply.

Other Martindale Close residents said they were worried about the fire spreading to other houses.

One resident said: “It was really scary."