A householder will be counting their blessings after a neighbour heard a smoke alarm and realised a fire had broken out in a log burner.

The quick thinking neighbour called the fire service after spotting flames inside the house at Whittlesey Road in Benwick .

Station Commander Simon Newton said: “The owners of this property were very lucky that a neighbour heard a smoke alarm sounding and upon approaching the house saw flames around the log burner.

“The fire service was called and extinguished the fire. Logs had been piled around the log burner and became hot and involved in the fire, causing it to spread.

“Thanks to the quick intervention by neighbours, minimal fire and smoke damage was caused to the property. This is a great example of why all residents should have working smoke alarms, so please make sure you test yours before Christmas.”

The incident happened on Friday December 19 at about 3.37pm and was extinguished by 4.14pm.

A crew from Whittlesey and one crew from Ramsey were called to deal with it. Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used a hose reel and a jet to extinguish the blaze.

A Cambridgeshire Fire Service spokesman said the cause of the fire was accidental, by person.