Nine pet cats killed in house blaze

Firefighters from Hindley and Atherton tackled the blaze at an address on Willow Bank, Westhoughton, at 10.25pm on Tuesday from which a man, a woman and several further pets escaped unscathed.

But the bodies of the luckless felines were recovered from rooms including the ground floor lounge area where the fire had started and was at its most intense.

Investigators say that a halogen heater was "almost certainly" the cause of the blaze which left the living room gutted by flames and most of the rest of the property smoke-damaged.

The fact that the house was not fitted with any smoke alarms should be a lesson to everyone, said Hindley watch manager Luke McDiarmid.

He added: "A man and a woman were in the house upstairs, but by the time they were alerted to the fire it was out of control and they did the right thing by getting out of the house there and then.

"Sadly nine cats died. We think another four escaped although it was difficult to tell.

"This incident surely demonstrates the importance of having a smoke alarm. Had one sounded, the occupants would have been alerted sooner and maybe the outcome would have been a lot less severe and distressing.

Four firefighters wearing breathing gear and using two hose reels tackled the blaze and the Hindley and Atherton crews were at the scene for four hours, after being relieved by one from Bolton. The incident was closed at around 6.30am on Wednesday.

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