A fire chief has warned of the dangers of chip pans after a late night fire at the weekend.

Four people had to be evacuated from a house on Sherwood Close in Barnard Castle after a chip pan fire broke out at 1am on Sunday.

The house was fitted with smoke alarms, however the batteries were not installed.

Fire investigators believe the chip pan had been turned on by one of the people in the house, who then fell asleep.

Three of the people in the house had to be taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

"We discourage anyone from using chip pans at all," said Steve Donnelly, fire brigade district manager. "They are extremely dangerous, and they cause a lot of the house fires we go to.

"If someone wants to use one, we would strongly recommend that they are never, ever left unattended and they certainly should not be used whilst under the influence of alcohol.

"Everyone was very lucky because this could have quite easily been a fatal accident."

For a free home safety check, call 0191-332-4222.