A WINWICK couple has issued a smoke alarm warning after an electrical blaze in their home months before they are set to tie the knot.

Paul Lewis and Susan Bradshaw, who are due to get married in July in the Lake District, were shocked when they heard their smoke alarm sounding at 9pm on April 20 after returning from a meal with their daughter.

The couple, of Waterworks Lane, said they searched upstairs before Paul, aged 57, finally opened the door of the dining room and was hit by a wall of heat and smoke.

It is thought the flames had started due to an electrical wire in an extension which had either been damaged inside or had frayed and had been slowly smouldering for some time.

Susan, aged 53, added: "It doesn't bear thinking about what could have happened if the smoke alarm hadn't gone off.

"We had been in the house for a few minutes when it started going off but couldn't see or smell smoke.

"Then I heard Paul shout 'Call the fire brigade and get out' and thick black smoke started coming out of the dining room.

"Firefighters have told me they have never seen smoke damage like it and all my wedding stuff I had stored in the dining room has gone."

The couple have lost a postbox for cards on the day as well as a guest book and table decorations which Susan says can be replaced but sadly there will not be enough time for her to re-order plastic cake stands which had been delivered from America as favours.

The mum-of-three, who luckily had not bought her wedding dress yet, said: "I have moments (when I can't feel positive) but they are just things and it could have been a lot worse.

"The smoke damage is extensive throughout the house and has even affected our clothes upstairs.

"We won't be back in the house for three to six months but our neighbours have been fantastic.

"We always knew they were lovely but this has cemented it.

"I just wish we knew someone with a magic wand."

Sean Henshaw, from Cheshire Fire, said: “This couple are very safety conscious and this fire was a fluke.

"The main thing is that they had a working smoke alarm, which Paul fitted himself, and it gave them time to get out safely.

"Smoke alarms give people the chance to escape if a fire breaks, but they do need to be checked regularly to ensure that they will work when you need them."