CHILDREN diced with death when they set fire to drums of highly flammable chemicals in a disused furniture factory.

The blaze ripped through the former Wood Fabrication factory in Marsh House Lane, Darwen, last night.

Firefighters from Blackburn and Darwen raced to the scene after flames were seen shooting through the roof of the empty building.

Rush hour traffic was disrupted as drivers were diverted away from the area.

Firefighters battled for two hours to put out the blaze.

They said the children who broke into the building and started the fire were dicing with death.

Station commander Peter Aspden from Darwen fire station said: "If a child had got trapped inside no-one would have even known about it and they would probably have died."

Edward Chapman saw the flames tearing through the roof from his house in Marsh House Lane.

He said: "I was just glancing out of the window when all of a sudden these huge flames burst out of the roof.

"They were really high and thick smoke filled the sky."

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