A PRESTON couple, whose young daughter was killed in a house fire two years ago, have backed a government campaign to raise awareness about putting cigarettes out properly.

The 'Put it Out -- Right Out' campaign is backed by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and aims to drive home the message that carelessly discarded cigarettes can cause fires.

It comes after the firefighting force reveal 20 of all fires attended last year, in Preston and South Ribble, were caused by cigarettes which had not been put out properly -- with a third of all fire-related deaths in England and Wales caused by cigarettes.

The new campaign -- which is being aired on television until the end of this month -- has won the support of Saeed Manman, 38, and his wife Fazila, 33, from Deepdale, who lost their eldest daughter Nazneen in a house fire caused by cigarettes.

Daily the couple relive the nightmare of the blaze at their Kingfisher Street home on July 12 two years ago when nine-year-old Nazneen tragically died from smoke inhalation after a discarded cigarette set alight furniture while the couple and their four children were asleep upstairs.

"We miss our daughter very much," said Saeed. "It is still very painful."

Despite escaping from the blaze unharmed the couple's three sons had to be treated in a decompression tank at Manchester's Booth Hall Children's Hospital due to the intensity of the heat and flames and the toxicity, particularly carbon monoxide.

Both Saeed and his wife were treated at the Royal Preston Hospital. But tragically it was too late for poor Nazneen. Now they are urging people to dispose of cigarettes properly in a bid to prevent another family suffering a similar fate.

"People should put out their cigarettes properly," urged Saeed. And the couple are keen to raise awareness about the importance of installing smoke alarms -- a safety device which was not fitted when flames ripped through their terraced house -- and other safety measures.

"After the fire we had a smoke alarm fitted," said Saeed. "I urge parents to turn off the fires, especially gas fires, and close all the doors. That was the big mistake we made -- we didn't close the doors."

Chief fire officer of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, Peter Holland, said: "Fires started as a result of smoking remain a significant cause of fires in buildings and take a dreadful toll in terms of death and injuries.

"If you are smoking late at night or after a drink your reactions tend to be slower and that's the time you need to take extra care."