RESIDENTS in a block of flats had to be evacuated in the early hours of Monday when a fire broke out in the kitchen of one of the apartments.

One person needed oxygen at the scene and another required hospital treatment for smoke inhalation after escaping from the properties in Tarn Drive, Bury.

According to fire fighters, a blaze broke out in a ground floor flat at 3am after its occupant, a middle aged man, had fallen asleep while attempting to cook food on the oven hob. He was awoken by a smoke alarm and managed to escape.

Residents in the next flat and in two above were evacuated as fire crews tackled the burning kitchen which suffered severe damage.

Station Officer Peter Crolla from Bury Fire Station said: "Cooking in the early hours when you are tired is not a wise thing to do.

"Fortunately, a smoke alarm had been fitted and this woke the sleeping resident in time for him to escape. Otherwise we could have been dealing with a fatal incident."