A FIRE broke out at a family home after 20-year-old man who had been smoking in bed fell asleep.

The cigarette set fire to his bedding and caused minor damage to the first floor of the house in Shaw Avenue, Burnley.

The house's two other occupants -- the smoker's mother and her partner -- had been in the front bedroom, which was smoke damaged.

By the time firefighters arrived ,all three people were outside the house.

The smoker, an asthmatic, was taken to Burnley General Hospital but refused treatment.

Sub Officer John Davis of Burnley Fire Station said the incident echoed this month's national fire prevention campaign, which stressed the importance of putting cigarettes out properly.

Statistics show fires started by cigarettes kill more than any other.