TWO men have been taken to hospital with burns to their faces and eyes after apparently using a UV tanning lamp to heat their home.

An ambulance crew discovered the pair, both in their 70s, after being called to a tenement in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh yesterday morning.

Rescue workers found a UV lamp designed for short tanning sessions had been left on for up to five hours to try to warm the property.

Both men were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary by ambulance where they were being treated for their injuries.

One of the men was named locally as 74-year-old Robert McCartney.

A neighbour in Wheatfield Road, who did not want to be named, said: "The first I knew about it was when the gas man came to check for carbon monoxide. I was a bit worried and the next thing I knew there was an ambulance. I never actually saw the two men go into the ambulance though."

She added: "I don't really know him [Mr McCartney] well but I know who he is. He keeps himself to himself."

A spokeswoman for the ambulance service said: "We believe a heater was left on for a few hours, I think to get some heat.

"They left them on for a few hours and when they woke up they had burns to their faces and eyes."

She added the men were complaining of problems with their vision.