FIREFIGHTERS in Malvern are warning people to put out candles correctly after two family homes almost burned down.

In the first incident in Wells Road, the family had gone to bed, leaving a lit candle on top of their video unit.

As it slowly burnt down, the wax dripped on to the electrical equipment, causing it to go up in flames.

The family was awoken at 3am last Friday by the smell of smoke. Luckily the unit burned out causing no further damage except for smoke damage to the lounge.

In another incident at The Glade in Malvern, another family, including a six-month-old baby were also at risk after an 11-year-old girl put a candle in the bin not realising it was still alight.

The bin blaze - on Saturday morning - gutted the whole kitchen but the family was alerted by their smoke detector.

Everyone managed to leave the house safely, following the correct procedure of shutting the kitchen door before phoning for the fire brigade at a neighbour's house. The fire brigade put out the fire - rescuing the family's pet gerbils in the process.

"We are reminding people to take care with candles, they may be fashionable in the house, but with two fires in two days it shows they can be very dangerous," said sub officer Saul Bolton from Malvern.

"The main problem comes when candles are not put in proper containers and the hot wax is not collected correctly."

He advised people to keep candles out of the reach of young children and pets, as both can be prone to knocking them over.

Similarly, Mr Bolton recommends people put candles out before going to bed.