A FAMILY forced to flee their home after a backyard arson attack have hit out at the yobs who put their lives in danger.

Firefighters said the blaze at a terrace house in the Wensley Fold area of Blackburn could have had devastating consequences after thick black smoke filled the building.

And they branded the arsonists’ actions as ‘reckless and dangerous’.

The fire, which was started in a wheelie bin, caused around £3,000 worth of damage to the walls of the house, windows, plumbing and electrical wiring.

The blaze also damaged the property's security lights.

The bin, which was next to a rabbit hutch, was set alight just after 1am on Saturday in the backyard of the house in Fox House Street.

Janet Paul, 52, said she was able to alert her family when she was woken by the smell of smoke.

She roused her son Matthew Paul, 27, daughter Samantha Paul, 29, and grandaughter Ellie six, and the family scrambled from the house.

Samantha said her daughter Ellie was very distressed and extremely concerned about her rabbit Spot in the back yard.

She said: "It was very scary and Ellie was hysterical. She was worried about her rabbit and whether there was time to go get him out of his hutch.

“The firefighters were saying that if we hadn't managed to ring them in time, the whole place could have gone up."

Janet said: "I had got up in the middle of the night and was just going back to bed when I smelt smoke.

“I opened the window and the whole yard was filled with smoke and the wheelie bin was on fire.

"That's when the smoke alarms went off and I called to everyone to get out.

“It’s really important that people think about what they’re doing and the consequences.

“It’s not funny or clever to go around setting things on fire and it needs to stop.

“We have been very lucky, but our lives were put in danger. It’s that serious.”

Her son Matthew said: "Even though we caught it early it has done so much damage. It's not hard to see that it could have been so much worse."

The family were able to reach Spot before he was injured.

Crew manager John Riley said: “They were lucky to get out because the property was totally smokelogged.

"Setting fire to a wheelie bin outside a home is totally reckless.

“With the rabbit hutch next to it, the potential for the blaze to get out of hand was huge.

"It was reckless and dangerous.”

Crew manager Phil Jones said: “Setting fire to bins is a drain on resources and it puts lives at risk.

“There have been a lot of high-profile fires that have begun as wheelie bin fires and spread.

“The bins are made of plastic and reach high temperatures, and you never know what’s inside them.

“If a lit bin was put under a porch, then very quickly it could take the roof off the property.”

Last week firefighters in the town dealt with around a dozen bin and rubbish fires, including six in the Ewood area in one night.