HINDLEY firefighters attended a house fire caused by a cooker that was accidentally left on overnight.

Fire crews were called to a bungalow in Higher Ince after a woman was luckily woken by a working smoke alarm at around 5am this morning, Friday.

She was given fire survival advice over the phone by a Control Room operator to make sure she stayed safe as crews made their way to the house.

Crew manager Gary Charnock, from Hindley Fire Station, said: "When we arrived, the woman was in the front living room window and a Control Room operator was giving her advice over the phone.

"The front door was locked and the woman didn't know where her keys were so a firefighter in breathing apparatus went in through the living room window and opened the door.

"She had accidentally left the electric hob on overnight and there was a quantity of paper close to the hob. Thankfully the woman had a working smoke alarm which activated and woke her up."

Firefighters led the woman to safety and used a hose reel to extinguish the flames before the woman was taken to hospital suffering minor smoke inhalation.