Woman dies in house blaze

The fire is thought to have been started by a chip pan

A mother and her nine-year-old son are critically ill after fire swept through a house in Blackpool, killing a young woman.

Rescuers were called to the house in Blackpool, Lancashire, in the early hours of Friday morning.

Firefighters with breathing apparatus fought their way through flames to rescue 48-year-old Lynda Smith and her sons Peter, nine, and Warren, 22, from the property.

But Warren's 21-year-old girlfriend Michelle Bates was found dead in an upstairs bedroom.

Peter, found huddled on a bed with his brother, was being treated at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital on Friday while his mother was in the Royal Preston Hospital.

Both were said to be critical.

Warren remained in the Blackpool Victoria Hospital, where he was described as "poorly but stable" in intensive care.

Extensive damage

Fire crews said the blaze had ravaged a large part of the two-storey building in the seaside resort.

The kitchen and hallway had suffered 100% fire damage and three first floor bedrooms had been severely affected by heat and smoke.

A neighbour was also taken to hospital and treated for the effects of smoke and shock.

Station Officer Peter Ashworth, of Lancashire Fire Service, said: "I have been in the service for 15 years and I have never seen a domestic property that well alight before."

"Without the bravery of the teams who went inside there would have been four fatalities."

Police said the fire started at about 02.00 BST when an aluminium chip pan left on a stove in the kitchen melted.

There were no suspicious circumstances.

A post-mortem examination found that Miss Bates had died from carbon monoxide poisoning.