A family of four were alerted by their  smoke alarm after a fire broke out in their home  in the early hours of today.

Firefighters from Bolton Central were called to a fire in Astley at 1.45am after a family woke to their alarm going off.

Although the fire destroyed a room in the family’s home, the fire service said 'it could have been a different story' if the smoke alarms hadn’t been working.

Watch manager, Darren Collier, explained the importance of a working smoke alarm, adding that the station offers free alarms and installation.

He said: “We were called to a house fire on Manchester Road in Astley at around 1.45 am.

“A dryer in the conservatory of the family’s home had caught fire during the night.

“They were very lucky because everybody was fast asleep in bed when the smoke detector started going off.

“The children heard it and woke their parents up but if they hadn’t had those alarms, it could have been a different story.”

The fire is said to have destroyed the family conservatory and three crew were in attendance for around an hour and 20 minutes.

Watch Manager Collier added: “Smoke alarms do work and we offer the service for free smoke alarms.

“We resupply them and fit them for free.

“To ask about the service, ring the Fire Centre directly or go to our contact centre.”