AN ELDERLY woman was rescued from her home by firefighters after it filled with plumes of smoke.

The woman had been cooking and left her oven unattended at around 11pm last night when the appliance set fire and sent smoke billowing around her house in New Riven Court, Little Lever.

She was alerted to the danger by her smoke alarms but, initially unsure of what to do, called the fire service.

Fire crews rushed to the property where they found the woman in a state of confusion and rescued her from the smokelogged house.

An ambulance was also called and paramedics gave the woman a check over. However she was unharmed.

Craig Cubbins, watch manager at Bolton North Fire Station, said: "Thankfully the woman heard her smoke alarms going off but she didn't realise what the problem was.

"When we got there she was confused and we had to take her out of the house before we cleared it of smoke."

After getting the woman to safety fire crews then made sure the house was safe and smoke free.

They will now provide Safe and Well visits to the woman's neighbours in the coming days to ensure they have working smoke detectors and a good level of fire safety awareness.

Watch manager Cubbins added: "Make sure you never leave cooking or appliances unattended and always make sure you have working smoke alarms.

"You should also regularly test your smoke alarms."

To arrange a free Safe and Well visit from firefighters, including checks to see if your home is safe and the installation of free smoke alarms, call 0800 555 815.