A semi-detached house was severely damaged after a fire ripped through the ground floor.

Fire crews attended the blaze in a garage attached to a property in Sutherland Close, Wilpshire, at around 11.30am on Monday.

They put the fire out before it spread to the upstairs but the downstairs of the property was ravaged.

Watch manager Steve Omar from Blackburn fire station said: "The ground floor of the house is quite badly damaged and there's also heavy smoke damage throughout the property.

"Six firefighters using breathing apparatus went into the house with hosereels to extinguish the flames.

"Luckily there was nobody in the property, and it is not being treated as suspicious, although we are now investigating to establish the cause of the fire and where it started."

Andy Metcalfe, who lives in Sutherland Close, saw the fire and said the whole street was filled with smoke.

Mr Metcalfe said: "I was sitting in the house with my brother and we looked out of the window and thought to ourselves 'it's gone a bit misty outside'.

"We thought someone must be burning leaves or something but there was that much smoke we went out to have a look and found the neighbour's house to be on fire.

"There was smoke everywhere, it was quite bad."

Mr Metcalfe said one of his neighbours must have called the fire service as they arrived not long after he stepped outside.

He said: "The fire service were here quickly, and at one point we thought the fire would spread to the next house but the firefighters got it under control, they were really good."

Fire crews from Blackburn remained at the scene until late on Monday evening while the property was made secure.

It is not yet known who lives in the house and whether they have been back to the property.