PICTURES: Fire rips through St Annes home after smoke spotted by neighbours

Firefighters from both Lytham and St Annes stations were called to the house, in Curzon Road, after neighbours spotted smoke pouring from the window, a spokesman for the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said.

The bathroom was already well alight by the time they arrived, shortly before 3pm on Wednesday, and the blaze was so ferocious rooms in the home were left blackened shells.

“Firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus used a hosereel jet to extinguish the fire, and a portable fan unit to extract the smoke and heat,” the spokesman said.

The house had no working smoke alarms, and the cause of the fire is now under investigation, he added in a statement.