A MAN who slept through a house fire had to be lifted to safety after a pan set alight at his Chorley home.

Fire crews were called to the Guernsey Avenue flat in Buckshaw Village at around 5.40am on Sunday after neighbours raised the alarm.

Bamber Bridge fire station watch manager Steve Boyne said: “The man had put a pan on the hob and fell asleep.

“The pan developed into a small fire which produced a huge amount of smoke in his flat. Neighbours were alerted to the fire by the smoke detectors, but the 30-year-old male slept through it.

“Firefighters forced entry into his flat and rescued him from the smoke-logged flat by grabbing him and carrying him out.

“He was still asleep and unaware of the fire until he was taken outside into the fresh air. He was attended to by the ambulance service but declined hospital treatment.

“The smoke detectors did their job and alerted people.”