RESIDENTS living in town centre flats had to be evacuated last night after unattended rice boiled dry and set the smoke alarms off.

Firefighters from Bury station were called to The Rock at about 11.15pm when smoke alarms were set off after one resident had gone for a shower while making some food.

Crew manager Gavin Doyle, said: "We were called after some cooking was left unattended while the owner had a shower.

"The flat filled with smoke and so did the corridor so a lot of residents had to be evacuated."

He said the rice had boiled over and the pan had started to burn.

Mr Doyle said the crew had ventilated the flat and warned the late night chef about the dangers of leaving cooking unattended.

Firefighters were at the scene for around 25 minutes.