A TODDLER who died after a blaze at his Salford home probably started the fire himself by playing with a cigarette lighter.

An inquest in Bolton heard that lively two-year-old Ben Lindley could have mimicked his parents and grandmother, who were all smokers, when left alone in the living room of the third floor apartment they shared.

Ben was rescued from a burning and smoke-filled flat in Arthur Millwood Court, off Rodney Street, by firemen.

Tragically he had suffered carbon monoxide poisoning to such a degree that it would have been impossible for him to survive. Three days after the blaze advanced life support that was keeping him alive in the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, was switched off.

A complex and lengthy investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire was carried out by police, Greater Manchester Fire Service, and the Forensic Science Service.

The inquest was told however that no evidence came to light to support any criminal activity, or third party involvement.

Deputy Bolton coroner Mr Alan Walsh, recording a verdict of accidental death, said that all other possible scenarios had been gradually eliminated.

He said: "On the balance of probability, I have to accept that this was a tragic accident in which a fire was started by Ben having access to a cigarette lighter."

The hearing was told the seat of the fire had been a sofa bed in the living room and Mr Walsh said the development of the blaze had been so 'quick and sudden' that it could only be explained by the use of a naked flame.

Unimaginable

The coroner, who heard evidence from more than 20 witnesses, said there were lessons to be learned from the 'unimaginable' tragedy - not least that there had not been a smoke detector in the two-bed flat, which Ben's parents had been sharing with his grandmother until they could find suitable accommodation of their own.

He said: "I would also urge people in the light of what happened here, never to leave cigarettes, lighters or matches in areas which are accessible to children."

The inquest was told that Ben's mother Diane had only left him alone in the lounge of the flat briefly while she took his sister Ebony to school.

The hearing was told how she had blown him a kiss and told him she wouldn't be long - little dreaming that disaster was to strike within minutes.

Diane's mother-in-law, Elaine Bodlovic, had already gone to work, and Ben's stepfather Karl, 19, was asleep in one of the bedrooms where the family's younger daughter Hayley was also sleeping in a carrycot.

The coroner paid tribute to Mr Bodlovic's efforts to save both children after he awoke to find Ben crying, and the flat filled with choking smoke.

The hearing had been told how, dressed only in boxer shorts, he had climbed out onto the balcony and managed to hand down Hayley to the occupant of a flat immediately below.

He tried to go back to rescue Ben, but was driven back by heat, smoke and flames, which made it impossible for him to get close to him.

The coroner, expressing his condolences to the family at the end of the inquest, said: "I am very sorry for the loss of Ben. It saddens me greatly when children of this young age lose their lives suddenly."