POLICE are trying to trace the owner of seven horses and a dog which were rescued from blazing stables.

Patrol officers spotted the fire, in Pole Lane, Darwen, at 3am today .

Firefighters say an aluminium storage container in the middle of two wooden stables was engulfed in flames when they arrived.

The container was used to store straw and riding equipment. Crews had to break down the side wall of one of the stables to rescue three horses as the fire started to spread.

Officers had to use breathing apparatus in the second stable which was filled with thick black smoke.

"As they entered the first thing they found was a dog, it just came wandering out," said sub officer Steve Ryan.

"It was very very hazardous. The officers had to go into the individual bays with the horses in a major panic. They were working blind to get each horse individually and lead them out. They did extremely well."

Another four horses and a dog in another stable at the side were unharmed.

"We strongly suspect the fire had been set deliberately. We can't rule anything out at the moment.

"Without our quick intervention we would have been talking about the loss of a lot of animals."