FIREFIGHTERS are warning of the dangers of storing bins close to property after a fire outside Riley's Snooker Club.

An industrial-sized wheelie bin had been pushed up against the metal shutters of the Blackburn Road club and set alight at 3am.

Firefighters managed to prevent the fire from igniting the building, but the exterior paintwork was damaged.

Sub officer Graham Banks said: "If this shutter had been a normal door the building would have caught fire.

"It is a warning to people, especially commercial businesses, to be careful not to store bins too close to buildings."