A MAN was taken to hospital after breathing in smoke when a fire badly damaged a motorcycle workshop in Burnley.

Firefighters were called to A & H Motorcyclists, British and Japanese scooters, at Victoria Works, Accrington Road, at 4.15pm yesterday.

The man, who was working in the workshop when the fire started, managed to get himself out of the building and was taken to Burnley General Hospital.

Leading firefighter Keith Dixon said: "The fire started in the single storey part of the premises and had gone through to the asbestos roof.

"We used the aerial platform ladder and firefighters wore masks to prevent inhaling any asbestos.

"We did not need to close Accrington Road, but we had to stop traffic for a short while while we manoeuvred the aerial platform ladder into position.

"The workshop area was badly damaged and we had to remove most of the roof to get in to tackle the fire."

Thirteen firefighters tackled the blaze for nearly four hours and a crew returned to the scene at 7.30am today to check to see if anything was still smouldering.

The cause is still being investigated.