A BLOCK of flats was evacuated after a fire in Prestwich.

The fire broke out at a ground floor flat in Links View at around 8.15pm last night.

Crews from Whitefield, Broughton and Agecroft attended.

The fire is believed to have been caused by a fault in the fuse box, but the fire service are still investigating exactly how it happened.

The flat suffered fire, smoke and heat damage.

Electricity North West also attended.

Nobody was in the flat at the time, as the tenant was visiting relatives.

Tim Eaton the watch manager at Whitefield Fire Station said: "The cause was a fault in the electrical consumer unit but we're still not sure how.

"There was a bit of panic because we initially thought somebody was in the flat.

"There are another six flats in the block but the fire alarm went off so everybody got out.

"Around 9.45pm, the woman who lives in the flat came back because her sister had informed her of what was happening.

"We are attending again today just to put letters through to remind people about smoke alarms and escape routes."