A FATHER and son who fell asleep together on a settee died as smoke fumes filled their candle-lit council house.

The 35-year-old man and his six-year-old son, who have not yet been named by police, were found dead in the downstairs room of a house in Wordsworth Terrace, Chorley, yesterday morning.

It was revealed that a smoke detector which could have saved their lives was not working because there was either no battery, or the battery had failed.

The man had only been at the house for a few days before the tragedy and had lit the candles because there was no electricity. Shocked next-door neighbour Dorothy Anton, 66, said: "It's terrible. I only spoke to the little lad yesterday. He was a bonny little boy with blond hair."

Firefighter Tony Hartley, of Chorley Fire Station, said the fire crew had been shocked and deeply upset by the discovery.

"It looks like they were both asleep at the time," he said. "There were no signs that they tried to get out of the premises."

Divisional Officer John Sanderson added: "I'm sure that had they had a working smoke detector it would have helped them to get out before the fire developed."

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and it seems that one of the candles had fallen over, setting fire to the settee.

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