A CARPET shop owner saw his business go up in flames after children started a fire behind his store.
And firefighters told Peter Preston, owner of Regency Carpets, Bridge Street, Darwen, that it was lucky the blaze did not happen at night or it could have been much more serious.
The fire started at about 3.30pm on Saturday.
"Someone came in the shop and asked if I had a fire in my cellar," Mr Preston said. "I looked and saw smoke billowing under the door. "The rubbish outside the house next door was burning so I called the fire brigade.
"Luckily we didn't have any customers in at the time."
The fire travelled up the rear wall of the shop and was tackled by Blackburn and Darwen crews.
It caused fire, smoke and water damage to the carpets and was due to be assessed today.
Mr Preston said he expected Regency Carpets would reopen on Wednesday.
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