A FIVE-month-old baby and five other children had to be lowered out of an upstairs window when fire broke out in their Bolton house in the early hours of today.

The children and three adults, Claire Schofield, Donald Davidson and Trevor Walmersley, managed to get out of the mid-terraced house before the fire service arrived at 3.49am.

But one of the householders -- 36-year-old Mr Davidson -- went back into the house to see if anybody else was inside and he had to be rescued by firefighters.

He was given oxygen by firefighters at the scene.

Today the house was boarded up. Burnt carpets and a three-piece suite were strewn across the front lawn amid clothes, shoes and many toys that had been destroyed in the blaze.

Shocked neighbours said the huge blaze engulfed the property.

The family's next door neighbour said: "It was a large blaze and the kids were being passed out of an upstairs window. I'm just so glad no-one was hurt."

Mavis Moss, another neighbour, added: "It's a shame for the children and it must be a worry where they will put them all."

The three adults and six children, aged from five months to 12-years-old, were taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital and kept in overnight after suffering from smoke inhalation. None were seriously injured.

Two dogs were also rescued from the house, on Shepley Avenue, Deane, by firefighters, one from inside and one from the back yard.

The fire is believed to have been started by a cigarette that had not been put out properly in the lounge where one of the adults was sleeping.

Station Officer at Bolton Central Fire Station, Malcolm Jones, said: "We obtained information that there was a smoker in the house so it is the most probable cause of how the fire started.

"The person in the lounge had gone upstairs to alert the others and we believe the children were passed from an upstairs window to someone else outside to be rescued.

"The door to the lounge was closed so the fire was contained. They have been very lucky."

The family had two smoke alarms and the upstairs alarm alerted them to the fire. It is not known whether the alarm at the bottom of the stairs was working because it had melted due to the intensity of the heat.

Six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus had to use break-in equipment to get into the house to tackle the fire. The lounge was badly damaged and the rest of the house was damaged from smoke.

Three fire crews stayed at the scene for two-and-a-half hours.