A 26-YEAR-OLD Radcliffe man was led to safety by fire crews from his smoke-filled house in the early hours of yesterday (Mon Aug 27).

Officers had to force their way into the property in Albion Street, where they found the occupier asleep on a settee.

The small blaze involved the contents of a grill pan. Fumes had activated the smoke alarm and had alerted a neighbour, who called the fire brigade.

Officers led the man outside and administered oxygen at the scene, but he declined hospital treatment.

Crews from Whitefield and Farnworth were called out to the house around 3.40am. The ground floor of the property sustained smoke damage.

A spokesman for the fire brigade said that the fact the house contained a working smoke alarm had prevented a much more serious incident from occurring.