A FAMILY of eight escaped a house fire after an electric heater went up in flames.

Firefighters said the front bedroom of the house, in Ramsay Avenue, Farnworth, was well alight when they arrived just after 4am on Saturday morning.

The parents, their four children aged one, four, 10 and 11, along with two uncles, managed to get out of the semi-detached house before firefighters arrived.One of the uncles, aged 58, was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital, as were all of the children, for a precautionary check-up.

None were thought to be injured and the family has since been re-housed by the Red Cross.

Lee Thompson, aged 28, one of the uncles, said: “We were all in bed at the time but we just got out as soon as we could and then the fire brigade came.

“We will just have to do the house up again bit by bit.

“All of the kids and the rest of the family are okay. We are just trying to get everything sorted.”

The house had a smoke alarm, but it is unclear whether it worked or not.

The front bedroom was destroyed in the blaze and the upstairs of the house was badly damaged by smoke.

Firefighters from Farnworth managed to prevent the blaze from spreading to the house next door.

Watch commander Danny Marshall said: “Everybody was very emotional when we arrived because the fire was well alight in the front bedroom.

“Fortunately they had all managed to get out before we arrived. The damage was extensive to the bedroom.

“We managed to extinguish the fire quite rapidly and then members of the Red Cross arrived to help re-house the family.”

Anyone who wants to book a free home fire safety check can call the fire service on 0800 555815 or go to manchesterfire.gov.uk/fire_safety_advice.