A TRUCKER has spoken of his relief after his wife and two sons escaped from a devastating fire which gutted their four-storey East Lancashire home.

Claire Dyson-Gee and her two sons Evan, aged seven, and 10-year-old Jared, were able to escape the fierce blaze at their home in Prospect Hill, Haslingden.

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It tore through their home, leaving little of the roof intact, and led to neighbours being evacuated.

Dad Paul Gee, a lorry driver who was working nights at the time, said he had faced an anxious wait before he could be reunited with his family.

An investigation is now under way into the cause of the fire, which was tackled by around 25 firefighters despite the county brigade being affected by industrial action over the weekend.

Mr Gee said he had been doing a number of HGV runs across the North West and was taking a trailer to Heysham when he found out about the blaze, which was reported to the emergency services just before 3.45am on Saturday.

“It is just lucky for me that everyone got out and no-one was hurt. It was around 6am before I could get back here,” he added.

He also thanked neighbours for their support as firefighters used a turntable ladder to extinguish the last remaining flames on Saturday morning.

Crews from Rawtenstall, Hyndburn, Colne and Burnley attended the scene in the early hours, alongside the aerial ladder platform.

A Lancashire Fire and Rescue spokesman said it was initially reported that the occupants of the house may be trapped inside but it was quickly established that the mother and her two children had been alerted by a smoke alarm and managed to escape.

He said: “The main focus of our operations was clearly to extinguish the fire but also prevent it from spreading to the neighbouring properties.

“The neighbouring homes were both smokelogged so we evacuated them and used positive pressure ventilation fans to remove the smoke.

“Thanks to the actions of the crews we managed to contain such a severe fire to that one property.”

Fire chiefs have praised neighbours, for their assistance in moving vehicles and offering support to the affected family, and staff from the Red Cross mobile support vehicle, who in turn offfered hot drinks and blankets to residents.

The possible cause of the fire is still under review but it is said to have affected the second, first and ground floors of the house. Because the 19th century properties are constructed on a hill, several of the homes also have a cellar.