Smoke alarm warning after candle sparks house blaze

Firefighters have issued a warning about smoke alarms after attending a blaze sparked by an unattended candle.

Crews were called to a house in Canon Street, Leicester, on Tuesday night and put out a fire on the ground floor.

In a social media post, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service's Eastern Station said the diva candle - usually lit as part of Hindu worship - set fire to other items nearby.

There were no smoke alarms in the property, but both occupiers managed to escape before crews arrived.

"It is really important to have working smoke detection in your property," the statement says, adding it will "tell you [if] you have a potential fire before it reaches a point where it could be too dangerous to escape".

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