A SUMMERHOUSE has been "totally destroyed" in a fire.

The incident happened at around 2am this morning in the garden of a property in Bolton Road, near to the junction with Buckingham Drive.

Fire crews were called after the homeowner heard the crackling of the burning summerhouse from his bedroom.

Firefighters spent 40 minutes tackling the blaze, which is understood to have been caused by an electrical fault or a discarded cigarette.

Initial reports suggested that the homeowner's son may have been inside the burning summerhouse, however this turned out to be false and no one was injured in the fire.

A fire service spokesman said: "We were called at about 2am to to a fire involving a summerhouse in a garden on Bolton Road.

"We were called by the owner of the property whose bedroom over looks the shed, and who heard a crackling sound then looked out of his window and saw the summerhouse was on fire.

"We got the call as a person report, as it was thought that his son was in ther but he wasn't ­— although he had been earlier.

"The summerhouse has been totally destroyed and we were there for around 40 minutes."