AN investigation is underway after a house blaze saw a woman rescued from the upstairs of her home in Colne.

The fire started in the living room of a mid-terrace property in Clifford Street, off Norfolk Street, just before 2.25pm today.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and using a ladder rescued the householder, a woman in her 40s, from an upstairs bedroom.

Two crews from Colne fire station and one from Nelson attended the blaze, the cause of which is now under review.

Caroline Harrison, a watch manager at Nelson, said: β€œIt was quite a severe fire in the living room and there was smoke damage throughout the property.”

The woman was treated at the scene by paramedics for the effects of smoke and later taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital for precautionary checks.