YOUNGSTERS playing with matches put their own and other people's lives at risk when they set a workman's cabin on fire, firefighters said today.

They were called to the blaze in Wensley Road, Wensley Fold, Blackburn, at about 8pm last night to find the cabin well alight.

Police sealed off the area as there was a risk that gas cylinders inside the cabin could explode.

Leading firefighter Tony Walmsley said: "Once a fire starts near those cylinders and they start to heat up they can blow at any time. These youngsters don't realise that. They could have blown while they were still in the cabin, while pedestrians were walking past before we got there, or while we were setting up.

"Somebody could have been badly hurt."

Firefighters used jets on the blaze from a safe distance for about 30 minutes to try to cool the gas cylinders and reduce the risk of an explosion.

They spent about two hours at the scene making sure the area was safe.

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