Pensioner sets hair on fire in cigarette slip

Published on Monday 4 January 2010 08:34

A PENSIONER set her hair on fire after attempting to light a cigarette on the gas burner of her cooker.

The woman, who is in her 70s, was taken to St John's Hospital in Livingston with burns to her scalp.

The accident happened at a house in Armadale, West Lothian, at around 9pm last night.

Three fire appliances attended the scene but the fire had been extinguished prior to their arrival.

Meanwhile, a man was treated for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in his home in Musselburgh in the early hours of Sunday.

Firefighters were called out to the house in Moir Avenue just after 3am after a fire started in the kitchen. They used breathing apparatus to help the occupant, believed to be in his 40s, to safety before extinguishing the blaze.

Ambulance staff treated the man on the scene for smoke inhalation. The house was said to be badly smoke damaged following the fire.