FIRE officers have issued a warning urging people to use outdoor cooking appliances correctly after a family were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes.

Two adults and five children required hospital treatment after a barbecue was used too close to a house in Walker, Newcastle, on Sunday.

Two Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service crews from Byker were called to the terraced house at 11pm after the alarm was raised.

Group Manager Andy Lillford, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue, said: “If you’ve planned a barbecue and the weather lets you down, never take the barbecue indoors or into a tent.”