HOUSEHOLDERS in Burnley had to call firefighters when candles they left burning unattended set fire to a table.

They escaped and called the fire brigade at around 6am after being alerted to the fire by smoke alarms in the property, in Leyland Road.

The candles had ignited a bowl of pot pourri and the fire then spread to the table.

Firefighters used a hose reel to extinguish the fire, which damaged the table, and used a ventilation unit to clear smoke from the lounge.

Leading firefighter Gary Hargreaves said: "Candles should always be extinguished before being left.

"Fortunately, in this case, smoke alarms alerted the occupants to the fire early in its development which prevented it from being more serious."