A RUNCORN resident had a nasty surprise awaiting him when he returned from a night out in the early hours of Monday to find his rented flat ablaze.

Runcorn Fire Brigade were called to Richard's Close to find a ground-floor flat alight at 2.20am.

The flames were coming out through the front door and the incident, caused by a damaged electrical cable, also left five other properties damaged.

The house itself, owned by Liverpool Housing Trust, was badly smoke damaged, with both bedrooms wiorst affected by the fire.

A Fire Brigade spokesman warned people not to run extension cables and wiring under carpets and beds.

"It's liable to get damaged," he said.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.