A shame-faced student was not looking forward to his parents coming home from holiday after setting fire to a chip pan in his Shipley home.

The 18-year-old, of Roundwood, off Moorhead Lane, Shipley, tried to extinguish a chip pan fire by pouring water over it yesterday afternoon - causing a ball of fire to shoot over his head and out the kitchen door.

Station Officer Stephen Nunn, of Shipley Fire Station, said: "He had cooked himself some chips and forgotten to turn the chip pan off when he went into the other room.

"When he realised it was on fire he picked it off the hob and put it on the kitchen floor and threw water over it - even though his friend was screaming at him not to do it.

"Fortunately for him the flames shot over his head and out of the open kitchen door.

"Luckily it wasn't in a confined space. If his kitchen had been smaller he could have been badly injured or burned on his face.

"It's not so lucky that his parents were due home from holiday four hours later!"

The blaze caused extensive damage to the kitchen and smoke damage to the ground floor of the house.