Firefighters have warned of the necessity of having working smoke alarms after a family-of-five had to flee a blaze at their Bradford home.

The fire at the terraced house in Westminster Road, Eccleshill, could have been less severe if the smoke alarms had been working properly and warned the family earlier. The blaze is thought to have started after a towel was left draped over a bedroom gas heater.

A man, his partner and three teenage children had managed to get out of the house which Bradford watch manager Roger Binns said had suffered extensive damage. He said: “The fire caused substantial damage to the bedroom, the hallway and more damage to the other bedrooms and the bathroom.

“There was water damage from extinguishing the fire downstairs.”

Mr Binns said the smoke alarms at the through-terrace home had been installed but were not working.

He said: “The fire would not have been so severe if the smoke alarms had been working. Ten minutes later and this could have been a lot more serious. People need to have properly-tested and working alarms.”