A MAN leapt from a first-floor window to escape a blazing house in the middle of the night.

A woman also managed to get out before firefighters arrived and rescued a couple aged in their 70s.

The pensioners were upstairs in the semi detached house in Accrington, and firefighters helped them get out of the burning building by using a ladder.

The fire started in the kitchen of the house in Hodder Street at 4.20am on Saturday.

Fire chiefs say a man jumped from a first floor window and a woman also managed to escape the property before they arrived.

The elderly couple were helped out through the bay window in the upstairs front bedroom of the house.

Watch manager Garry Drinkwater said firefighters also had to prevent the fire from spreading to a nearby gas meter until engineers could isolate the supply.

Electricity supplies to several streets in the area were also affected as a result of the incident.

Homes next to the affected property were evacuated as a safety precaution.