A LITTLE boy set his family's living room on fire yesterday, then averted disaster by waking his mum.

Five-year-old Matthew Fox was playing with a lighter in the living room of his parent's isolated farmhouse at Moor Side, Worston, near Clitheroe.

A "throw-over" on an armchair caught fire and furniture and curtains became engulfed in flames.

Mum Debra said her son ran upstairs crying abd saying the chair was on fire.

She said: "I rushed downstairs and tried to get the burning chair out of the door, but it got stuck. So I ran to the kitchen and got a washing-up bowl full of water, which I threw over it.

"I told Matthew to go and get help, while I got my daughter, Rebecca, out of the house. I had another go at the fire with buckets of water before the fire crew arrived, but without success."

The lucky family sat outside in shock as they waited for firefighters to arrive from Clitheroe. "The smoke was terrible and we couldn't see a thing. We were all in shock, especially Matthew, who realised what he had done and was very distressed," Debra added.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control and station officer Dave McGrath, while praising Matthew for alerting his mum, gave him a ticking off for playing with fire.

Debra added: "We were very lucky. If Matthew hadn't alerted me, it could have been a lot worse. The whole house could have gone up.

"It's every parent's worst nightmare."

Clitheroe fire station is to host a family fun day on August 10, where staff will give advice on fire safety in the home.

The Princess Avenue station will be open from 2pm to 4 pm.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.