A WOMAN accidentally set her house on fire - after trying to "burn" a colony of ants out of a wall cavity.

Firefighters had to remove outside bricks on the property to get to the flames which were spreading inside the wall space.

The incident happened at 5.15pm last Saturday at an address in Bamford Close, Runcorn.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, the blaze had spread throughout the semi-detached property.

"We were extremely worried that the fire would spread to next door," said leading firefighter Ken Sharratt.

"These houses have a timber frame structure with bricks on the outside.

"We had to remove the front door and the door frame and several bricks from the front of the house to enable us to get near the flames which were between the inside and outside walls.

"It was an unusual situation and this is not the most desirable way to get rid of ants.

"People should not use flammable liquids to remove ants but should buy proper insecticides instead."

There was extensive fire damage to the house.

The woman was treated for smoke inhalation.

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