A LIVING room was badly damaged after a candle set fire to a television.

Two fire crews tackled the blaze that left the house in Cook Avenue, Bearpark, heavily smoke-logged yesterday afternoon.

A Durham brigade spokesman said it was thought the scented candle was left burning on top of the set to freshen the room while the occupants were out.

"It burnt through the TV and set fire to that area of the room. There was quite a lot of smoke damage to the house. Unfortunately the smoke alarms didn't operate. One had a battery but didn't work and the other didn't have a battery.

"If an alarm had worked it may have alerted a neighbour that there was a fire quicker."

The spokesman said the brigade was concerned there had been a spate of incidents with candles.

"It is a warning not to leave candles burning and also to be aware of the condition of your smoke alarm," he said.