A Wirral mum is sending a warning to smokers after she and her young family had a lucky escape when her discarded cigarette caused a garden fire which quickly spread inside their home.

The blaze burned through windows of patio doors at Brisbane Avenue, Wallasey and also caused damage to a neighbour’s home.

Wirral Globe:

Fire service told mum she'd had a lucky escape from blaze

Joanne Barker, 31, told the Globe she had lit up in the garden when the wind blew her discarded stub into bin bags full of rubbish.

Wirral Globe:

Joanne Barker with sons Frankie and Jack

The mum-of-two said: “Within ten minutes of me going inside, I looked out of my little boy’s bedroom window and couldn’t believe what I was seeing - the amount of smoke was incredible.

“At first I thought our central heating boiler had gone on fire - I never thought it would be the cigarette.”

Joanne and her youngest son Frankie, aged three, managed to escape the property minutes before the fire caused windows to shatter and the flames began to spread inside their house.

Merseyside fire service was called and it took more than an hour to extinguish the blaze.

It caused significant damage and a cabinet of treasured souvenirs was destroyed.

Joanne added: “The fire crew told me how lucky we were.

"They said that if I hadn't spotted the smoke when I did, we may not have been able to get out of the property in time."

Although alarms had recently been fitted, they did not trigger until smoke had infiltrated throughout the house.

Wirral Globe:

The blaze cause signifcant damage to home

Joanne added “I was hysterical in the street, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“I was panicking.

"It was my own fault for leaving the rubbish out but I never thought something like this would happen.

"Now I just want to use my experience as a warning to others"

Watch manager Tony Harland from Merseyside Fire and Rescue incident investigation team said:“Cigarettes unfortunately are still one the most common cause of fire in the home.

"We would advise that when smoking outdoors,  smokers’ should always ensure that cigarettes are fully extinguished and disposed of in a safe manner, particularly during windy conditions."

Smoking outdoors advice:

  • Always smoke away from bins and other combustible materials.
  • Ensure cigarettes are extinguished before being disposed of.
  • Discard extinguished cigarettes in a bucket of water or sand.
  • Be mindful that a discarded cigarette is much more likely to start a fire in windy conditions.