SMOKING in bed is believed to have caused a fire to completely destroy a bedroom.

Three fire crews were called to a house in Plumpton Drive at about 10.20pm last night when they were alerted to the blaze by a neighbour.

Crew manager Gavin Doyle of Bury fire station said: "When we arrived it was clear the upstairs was heavily smoke logged.

"The fire was contained in a bedroom which was 100 per cent fire damaged and the rest of the upstairs was smoke damaged. It's the smoke that destroys everything."

He described 'smoking materials' found in the bedroom by the firefighters and said it was a warning for people not to smoke in bed.

Watch manager Tony Wellock from Whitefield fire station said lighters and other evidence of smoking on the remains of the bed.

Mr Doyle added: "The fire was intense enough to destroy everything in the room, plaster on the walls comes off in certain areas."

A 48-year-old woman was checked over by the ambulance service on the scene but was out of the house when crews arrived.

It is believed she was downstairs make a cup of tea when the fire broke out.

Mr Wellock added there were no working smoke detectors in the property, which he said should serve as another warning.

One neighbour who saw the incident unfold said: "We don't really know what happened. 

"I smelt smoke and thought it was my 15-year-old burning something in the house. 

"I saw her come out of the house and she tried to go back in, she was worried about her dog. 

"A guy who lives next door got her out and got the dog out of the back garden."

The neighbour praised the fire service who responded to the incident and said one of the firefighters spent time with the 48-year-old to calm her down.