TRAGIC youngster Aaron Reynolds is likely to have use used a cigarette lighter to start the blaze which killed him, fire officers have revealed.

The three-year-old was found dead by firefighters in his bedroom in Lime Tree Grove, Rawtenstall, on August 7.

An inquest was told that the wiring in the house was far from ideal, and smoke detectors did not work - prompting Aaron's natural father to label it a death trap.

But an inquest at Reedley Magistrates' Court, assistant divisional fire officer Barry Graham said: "I have no evidence to prove Aaron started the fire because the room was so badly damaged, but I believe that was most likely the cause."

He told how he had considered all the possible causes and said the wiring was "far from ideal" but he said that he checked with experts who said the electrical equipment would have drawn little power and the system was not overloaded.

He said: "It is not possible to discount that there was a fault in the electrical equipment but the fuses on the lighting system failed, which indicates the protection system was still working."

He said he has been told by Aaron's mother Sally Reynolds and her partner Graham Gardiner that Aaron had seen them lighting the fire downstairs and Mrs Reynolds told him that Aaron had, on occasion, been playing with lighters and she had taken them off him.

Mr Graham said: "There was evidence of smoking materials in other parts of the house. He had access to cigarette lighters left around the house."

Pathologist Dr W D Salman gave the cause of death as firstly carbon monoxide poisoning and secondly severe burns.

He said Aaron suffered third degree burns to 90 to 95 per cent of his body.

When questioned by Mr Gardiner about whether Aaron suffered, Dr Salman said: "It is most likely he was dead before he sustained the burns. I can assure you he did not suffer."

Two smoke detectors in the hallway and lounge did not have batteries in, although Mr Gardiner and Mrs Reynolds said the battery in a smoke detector in Aaron's room had been checked in February, the inquest was told it did not activate.

At the inquest Aaron's natural father Stephen Reynolds, of Benson Street, Bury, claimed the house was a death trap. No-one from the fire service was prepared to comment on Mr Reynolds claims.

Mrs Reynolds told how she had put Aaron to bed at at 8.45pm and had left him at 9pm in front of his computer playing a game.

He was found sitting on a bedside cabinet in a position where he probably would not have been able to see the fire.

His family told how he used to sit there to read and believed he may have been using it as a place of comfort while he decided what to do next.

Mr Gardiner told how he tried to get into the room but was knocked back by the heat.

He said: "It was obvious nobody could have been alive with the density of the smoke."

He said he would have expected Aaron to try to get out of the room if there had been a fire, unless he was already asleep or unconscious.

Acting East Lancashire coroner Richard Taylor recorded a verdict of "accidental" death. and said: "This is a clear tragedy that has affected the lives of many people.

"I do offer my sincere condolences to everyone, this is an appalling tragedy. We are not here to apportion blame, we are here to deliver a verdict.

He said: "I do not think we will ever know the truth of exactly how this occurred but it was a tragic accident."