A TAP which had been left running caused extensive damage, leaving five flats with no electricity today.

The incident in a third-floor flat in Ashley Brook Close happened after the tenant failed to turn the tap off properly when he left to work a night shift.

A blocked sink mean water overflowed and seeped through to flats below.

Craig Cuvvins, watch manager at Bolton North Fire Station, said:" We got the call at approximately 11.30 on Monday evening from a neighbour in a flat below.

"A crew and one pump spent three hours at the address making the scene safe and turning the electricity off in the surrounding flats which had suffered water damage."

Mr Cuvvins added: "Usually, its cookers being left on but the advice is the same: make sure everything is turned off when you leave your home."