Fire warning after food left on cooker

Crews were called to a flat on Scholes at around 6.50pm on Wednesday after a neighbour heard a smoke alarm.

As there was no-one in the property firefighters had to break down the door before turning off the cooker where two pans had been left boiling.

The incident caused only minor damage to the hob and some smoke damage to the rest of the kitchen.

Fire crews are now urging residents not to leave their homes while cooking and to ensure they have working smoke alarms fitted.

Crew manager Danny Molyneux said: “You would think it would be common sense not to go out and leave the pans boiling, but people are still doing it.

“It’s also important to make sure everyone has working smoke alarms. If the alarm hadn’t been going of this would probably have been a lot worse.”

The owner returned to the flat while the crews were there and received some home safety advice.

Firefighters from Hindley and Skelmersdale fire stations attended and were at the scene for around an hour.