FIRE crews were called out to reports of people trapped in a house fire but it turned out to be a hoax.

Two engines from Nelson and one from Burnley were sent to the house in Halifax Road, Brierfield, at 11.17am yesterday.

But when they arrived, there was no sign of a fire. The occupier of the property confirmed there was no fire. Fire crews liaised with control, and other nearby fire crews on their way to the incident, to confirm the initial address was correct.

The incident was recorded as a malicious false alarm.

Firefighter Lewis White said: “We want to highlight to the community the dangers of hoax calls, as they mean fire appliances are unavailable elsewhere should an incident occur.

“Hoax calls can potentially have fatal implications, which has been the case in previous instances.

“The community should also be aware that hoax calls are illegal and anyone caught making malicious calls can be prosecuted. ”