A DISABLED woman was lucky to escape with minor burns after a house fire in Leigh.

The blaze, which was caused by an electrical fault in a lamp, set a curtain alight and spread to the kitchen and conservatory of the semi-detached house, in Letcombe Close.

The 60-year-old woman,who asked not to be named, suffered burns to both hands as she tried desperately to stop the spread of the fire.

She said: “I saw the spark on the lamp and watched as it caught a tassel on the drapes. I pulled them down and threw them out the back door but it spread so quickly.

“I called the fire service and they told me to get out but I would have done anything to try and put the fire out.

“I had to jump over the fire to get out of the house.

“The fire service said it was a miracle I made it out alive. I can’t believe it. I have been through a lot but I never thought I would experience something like this.

“I am gutted. A lot of love and hard work has gone into the house and it could be six months before we can move back in.”

The woman and her husband have been staying in a hotel and will be rehomed temporarily while the work is carried out.

She was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation by paramedics, and taken to hospital for further checks but her hands are now healing.

Fire crews from Leigh, Atherton and Hindley attended the incident at about 6.30pm on Friday.

Craig Cubbins, watch manager at Leigh fire station, said: “The woman was in the house on her own with her dogs, and they all got out before we got there.

“She inhaled quite a bit of smoke and burned her hands as she got out of the house, but she managed to call us out.”