LANCASHIRE Fire and Rescue Service has launched a hard-hitting television campaign to encourage people to install smoke alarms in their homes.

In light of statistics showing 16 people died and a further 118 were injured in the county last year, the department has teamed up with the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) for the advertising campaign.

Around 20 per cent of homes still do not have smoke alarms and of those that do, many are not checked to ensure they are working -- somewhat foolish when you consider statistics show you are twice as likely to die in a fire without a working smoke alarm.

Chief fire officer Peter Holland welcomed the campaign: "Many lives are needlessly lost by not having working smoke alarms in the home.

"When a fire starts, you have just minutes to escape and an alarm can buy valuable time and ensure you get out before it is too late." The advertisement aims to combat the excuses which people use for not installing alarms, the "I'm careful and it won't happen to me" school of thought. It gives the message "Excuses kill. Get a smoke alarm" and highlights the fact they are cheap -- usually under a fiver -- and easy to install.

The campaign comes just a week after the tragic death of Christopher Shawcross, 25, of Merton Grove, Chorley.

Mr Shawcross died in a blaze which began at the house after he put a chip pan on the hob and fell asleep.

He lived in the house with his parents, sister and fiancee and their seven month old daughter, but was alone in the house at the time of the incident.

Just days after the sad news, Lancashire Fire and Rescue appealed to homeowners to remove any chip pans from their homes once and for all, saying homes will be a safer place without them.