TWO dogs died and their owner was made homeless when a narrowboat caught fire on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Foulridge.

The owner, Mick Woodcock, raised the alarm by running to the Hole In The Wall Inn a few hundred yards away.

He suffered minor injuries when he tried to rescue one of the dogs. He is now staying with family in Colne.

It is believed the fire started when one of the dogs knocked over a lit candle.

Colne firefighters attended the blaze off Warehouse Lane, where several narrowboats are moored, and found the fire had burned through the mooring rope and sent the boat drifting.

Station Officer David Gilligan said: "We tried to put out the blaze with a jet, but that only made the boat drift further down the canal.

"So we freed a second boat and punted out towards the burning boat, fastened a rope to it and pulled it back to the bank.

"We put out the fire but were unable to save the boat or the dogs."

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