UPDATE: Roof caves in after Burnley 'arson' attack

One man living two doors away from the blaze on Pritchard Street said he felt 'sick' as the fire headed along the terrace towards his home.

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Another resident was evacuated as smoke spread through the adjoining roof space.

Witnesses said they saw flames leaping from the empty building and 'red hot embers' coming from the upper floor.

Firefighters said they had launched an investigation into the blaze, which they said they believed was started deliberately and gutted the house.

Bob Rawlinson, who lives two doors away from where the fire started, said: "There was absolutely tonnes of smoke and there were red hot embers. The house was glowing.

"You could see the fire was spreading and it appeared to be spreading towards my house too.

"There was smoke coming out of my room and I just felt sick."

Firefighters received reports of the fire around 5.40pm on Saturday and said it was spreading. Tiles were falling from the roof.

After using a battering ram to break down the door to make sure nobody was inside, they told the next door neighbour to get out. He was uninjured.

A cordon was set up to make sure residents and passers-by were a safe distance from the falling slates.

Watch manager Steve Harrison said the blaze started in a back bedroom.

He said: "When we arrived there was a developing fire which had already destroyed one of the bedrooms at the back and was going through into the roof.

“It was spreading quite rapidly, so we had to break into the house and the two properties either side. It took us quite a while to bring the fire under control.

"Only one of the houses was occupied as the other was being developed.

"The fire had started in one of the bedrooms at the rear."

Mr Rawlinson added: "The firefighters cordoned off the street and the neighbours were told to either go outside of the cordon or to stay in their homes.

"My house still smelt of smoke yesterday."

Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said she had to keep the windows and doors open for most of yesterday ((SUN)) to try to get rid of the smell of smoke.

She said: "The smoke came into most of the houses on this row.

"Fortunately I was not in at the time, but my partner told me about it and said to stay away.

"The fire service were really good and used a big fan to force all of the smoke out.

"It was all a nightmare."

Another Pritchard Street resident added: "I could see fire and flames coming from the roof."

In 2011, a house in Pritchard Street became the cheapest house in Burnley, a town frequently named the cheap-property capital of Britain, when it sold for £10,000, which was £5,000 less than the asking price.

An investigation is now underway to determine the cause of the fire, although Mr Harrison said it was believed to be arson.

He said: "We do think the fire is suspicious, so alongside the police, we are conducting an investigation."