A YOUNG Bolton woman had a flee her parents' house after a faulty water heater sparked a fierce fire.

Victoria Heap was staying at the family home in Somerset Road, Heaton, while her parents are away in France, when the blaze started at around 10pm last night.

Miss Heap, believed to be in her early 20s, and her boyfriend heard the bathroom window explode and rushed upstairs to see flames coming through the door. The pair left the house and dialled 999 from a neighbour's phone, and were later praised by firemen for acting correctly. The flames were so fierce they had already burned through the bathroom door and the rest of the upstairs in the semi-detached house was on fire.

One neighbour said the fire caused quite a commotion in the street. He said: "Lots of neighbours came out to watch. We understand there was quite a lot of damage." Miss Heap and her boyfriend were unharmed.