A CORONER has urged people to fit smoke alarms and to cook chips in a deep fat frier after a man died in a house fire.

Terence Ashton, aged 22, of Deal Street, Great Lever, had returned home from a night out on February 10 and made some chips using a chip pan.

He went into the dining room but fell asleep in a chair. The chip pan, which was placed on top of the cooker, caught fire.

Mr Ashton, a fitness fanatic, was woken when kitchen units and their contents crashed to the ground. But he collapsed to the floor where he died.

Bolton Coroners' Court heard the factory worker had earlier been enjoying a night out with pals.

Coroner Jennifer Leeming, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, said: "It is advisable for people to fit a smoke alarm and to cook food in a deep fat frier. Mr Ashton's death was a terrible tragedy."