A MAN had to be pulled to safety from his smoke filled house after leaving a pan on the hob.

Farnworth firefighters were called to Malvern Grove, Walkden at 1am last night.

The man had fallen asleep and left a pan on the hob in the kitchen.

Neighbours were alerted to the smoke alarm and contacted the fire service.

Watch manager Steve Coote said: "There was some food on his cooker which had been left and set alight.

“Without the smoke alarm there could have been a lot more serious consequences, it helped save his life.

“It really puts an emphasis on how important they really are and it’s a reminder to people to check their smoke alarms weekly to check if they are working, everyone should have a working fire alarm."