A WOMAN died and her partner was injured after a chip pan caught fire at their home in Adlington.

Firefighters were called to the house on Railway View just after 2.30am on Sunday after smoke and flames were spotted.

The house had a smoke alarm, but it had no batteries in it.

Station officer Mark Brisco, of Leyland Fire Station, said when they got there the crew was met by the male occupant, a Mr David Hough, 32, who was suffering from slight smoke inhalation and head injuries after escaping through a window. His partner, Miss Ciara Tenanty, 22, was trapped in the house.

Officer Brisco said: "We sent in two firefighters with breathing apparatus to search the premises and they found the woman had collapsed fully clothed on the first floor. The fire started in the kitchen after a chip pan caught fire and the woman was trapped upstairs."

She was taken to Chorley Hospital but died shortly afterwards.

The couple were said to have returned from a fireworks display.

Officer Brisco added: "It was quite severe when we arrived and although we got it under control quite quickly and brought Miss Tenanty out within minutes, she had inhaled a lot of smoke."

John Taylor, from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, said the death was made all the more tragic by the fact that the house was fitted with a smoke alarm that had no battery.

He appealed: "I cannot overstate the importance of a smoke alarm and regular change of battery. This tragic accident could have been prevented if the smoke alarm had been working."