DORSET firefighters have warned people to take care with candles after crews tackled a fire in a bedroom.

Crews were called to a property where a candle had been allowed to burn down inside a glass holder which was placed on top of a satellite television box.

Because the candle burned right down, the glass holder overheated and broke. The resulting fire completely destroyed the box, but, luckily, that was the full extent of the damage.

Station manager Greg Izon said: “Fortunately, the occupier returned home before going to work, so discovered the fire and raised the alarm. As such, the damage was contained to the bedroom, but it could have been a lot worse.

“You should extinguish candles when you leave the room, always make sure none are still burning if you are leaving the house or going to sleep, and only ever use correct holders on solid surfaces.”