CANDLES left burning caused two house fires over the weekend.
The first blaze was in Wakefield Road, Lepton, when a loft caught fire.
A 13-year-old girl was downstairs in the house at 3pm on Saturday when she smelled burning.
The teenager investigated and found the converted loft had filled with smoke. She immediately dialled 999 and fire crews managed to contain the blaze to the loft but it was severely damaged.
The second fire happened in Newland Court, Birkby.
A group of friends went out for the night and left a candle burning on top of a storage heater. When they arrived home at 2.40am on Sunday they discovered the candle had burnt down and wax had dropped in to the heater in the lounge.
Fire crews again managed to control the blaze and nobody was hurt in either incident.
Watch manager at Huddersfield fire station, Simon Dennett, said the fires proved candles should never be left unattended.
"Luckily no-one was hurt but it could have been much worse," he said.
"Candles should never be left to burn unattended. They are a common cause of fires in the home."
