A FAMILY had a lucky escape after a cigarette ignited bed clothes while they slept.

Firefighters were called to a terraced house in Hughes Street, Halliwell, at 2.15am on Thursday.

A man in his mid-20, his brother and his mother were alerted to the fire by smoke detectors fitted in the house by the fire brigade last year.

When firefighters arrived the burning bed clothes had already been put in the sink and the fire was out.

Ian Duckworth, of Bolton Central fire station, said: "This shows how important the smoke alarms which we fit in our free home assessments are."