A BLIND, elderly woman was evacuated from her house in Mosley Street, Blackburn, after a fire in an empty property next door.

Blackburn firefighters were called tat 7pm yesterday. Vandals are believed to have started the fire in the living room.

The house was severely damaged and the woman was evacuated after smoke from the fire seeped into her home.

She spent the night with friends.

Station officer Andrew Barnes said: "Starting rubbish fires is one thing, but starting a fire in a house is quite another.

"Thankfully, the house was empty, but it was substantially damaged and this could have been a far worse matter."