A MOTHER and son died in an early morning blaze probably caused by a chip pan left on by the teenager after a night out.

Joyce Winchester, 36, and Lee Haythornthwaite lost their lives on Lee's 19th birthday, as thick smoke poured through their home on Briercliffe Road, Burnley, on November 15.

An inquest heard how passers-by urged Joyce's husband Ian to jump to safety from their bedroom window and how he tried in vain to get his wife to follow.

East Lancs coroner David Smith recorded verdicts of accidental deaths on both mother and son and said he hoped people would note that smoke detectors were "essentials rather than luxuries"

He told the inquest the fire was likely to have been caused by a chip pan put on by Lee, who had been out celebrating his birthday, in a "very unfortunate accident." Both victims had second and third degree burns and died of carbon monoxide poisoning, said pathologist Doctor W D Salman.

Lee had alcohol in his blood but only the equivalent of about one pint.

Motorist Malcolm Porter, of Windermere Avenue, Burnley, said he and his wife pulled up outside after seeing Ian Winchester waving and shouting and found him hanging from the smashed window by his fingers.

Mr Porter said: "He was shouting all the time for Joyce. We were trying to encourage him to jump, but he was very very reluctant. I was able to break his fall."

Mr Winchester, now living at Cleaver Street, Burnley, said he and his wife went to bed about midnight. After some time she awoke him to say she could smell smoke. He tried to ring for the fire brigade, but the phone was dead. As he opened the door, the smoke poured into the room and he smashed the window.

Mr Winchester went on: "I tried to encourage my wife to go through the window, but she kept sitting back on the floor."

Nicholas Isherwood, acting assistant divisional officer, said the blaze was caused by an unattended chip pan and stressed the early warning importance of smoke detectors.

He went on: "With the Christmas period coming up, when people are with their families, this is a very tragic reminder."

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