EMPTY houses awaiting demolition are death traps of danger, fire bosses have warned.

Station Officer Steve Cope said of the houses, in Daneshouse, Burnley: "They are death traps with burnt-out staircases, live electrics and with needles, nails, glass and other dangerous items strewn everywhere.

"People should not allow their children anywhere near them.''

The warning followed the latest of many incidents in which children have gone into an empty property and set it on fire.

Fire crews were called to Travis Street at about 6.30pm yesterday and found the front room of one house well alight.

SO Cope said: "Obviously we did not know whether children might be trapped inside so we had to carry out a search with firefighters putting their lives at risk.''

He said: "Backs of the properties have been opened up, possibly in readiness for demolition, but we are asking the council to make them secure.

"One family still lives on the block affected by yesterday's fire. We gave them two smoke alarms in case there are other fires.

"In these sort of properties fire can quickly go through the roof space and spread to other houses.''

He urged parents to warn children not to play in empty houses or to start fires which were a danger to themselves and to others.

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