A BURNING house in Ribble Drive, Whitefield, took three hours to be made safe.

The alarm came at 10.58 am on Monday and saw fire crews from Whitefield, Broughton amd Heywood tackling the fire.

Watch manager for Whitefield Fire Station, Tim Eaton, said: "Fortunately, there was no-on in the house at the time.

"There were no suspicious circumstances and the fire is believed to have started in the porch.

"The porch itself was badly damaged and the rest of the house suffered from smoke damage."

He said the owner of the house will be staying with a friend until the property is made habitable.