A MAN had a lucky escape after he fell asleep with his chip pan on, firefighters said.

They were called to a flat in Butts Hill, Gomersal, at 7pm on Saturday, after thick black smoke coming from the pan set the fire alarm off.

Firefighter Nigel Godsman, of Cleckheaton fire station, said: "It was a chip pan that had been left unattended. A gentleman had gone and sat on his settee and fallen asleep and was woken by his smoke detector.

"The chip pan didn't actually catch on fire but a couple more minutes and it could have had the potential to be a serious incident."

Mr Godsman said the man had got himself out of the flat by the time they got there.

He said: "He was suffering from smoke inhalation so we gave first aid, including oxygen, until the arrival of the ambulance."

Mr Godsman said the casualty did not go to hospital.

He added: "If the fire alarm hadn't have gone off, it would have turned into a potentially serious incident.

"It just shows that smoke detectors do save lives."