A PENSIONER was recovering in hospital today after a blaze at his home. Fire bosses said the man was lucky to be alive and added: "He owes his life to an aerosol can."

The 70-year-old was sleeping upstairs at his home in Colne Road, Burnley, shortly before 11pm yesterday when he was woken by the exploding can to find the house ablaze.

He managed to make his way downstairs, from where fire crews pulled him to safety.

Fire chiefs have again warned people to get smoke alarms fitted after they said the pensioner could easily have died in the house fire.

There was no smoke alarm fitted at the house.

The man was treated by fire crews at the scene and taken by ambulance to Burnley General Hospital suffering from burns to his arm, singed hair and the effects of breathing in smoke.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

Watch manager Tom Ashworth, of Burnley fire station, said: "This man was very, very lucky to survive. He was asleep upstairs during the fire and was woken by an aerosol exploding, by which time the fire was already very hot.

"This again shows the importance of having a working smoke alarm fitted in the house. If this man had an alarm he would have been able to get to safety much more quickly, but as it is we have almost had a fatality."

Fire crews offer free home fire safety checks and fire smoke alarms free of charge. Call 0800 169 125 for details.