People are being warned about the dangers of using faulty extension leads after a family had a lucky escape.

Firefighters were called to a house off Toller Lane, Heaton, when fire broke out in a bedroom.

Investigations revealed the cause to be a faulty extension lead, which was connecting a portable heater in the bedroom to a plug socket.

Firefighters from Fairweather Green said the extension lead was already damaged before it was used, meaning it should have been thrown away.

The family had managed to put out the blaze by the time firefighters arrived. Three children, their mother and their grandmother escaped unhurt.

A fire service spokesman said: “If they had all been asleep in bed, it would have been a lot worse because there were no smoke alarms fitted to the property.”