A TEA towel left on an electric hob caused a fire to break out in the kitchen of a Carterton home. 

Three fire engines attended the blaze yesterday afternoon.

The fire service said it was called at 2.03pm to reports of a fire in a two-storey terraced house. 

A neighbour had called 999 after hearing a smoke alarm going off. 

The first firefighters on the scene found a small fire in the kitchen which they were able to put out quickly. 

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A kitchen door had been shut which stopped the flames from spreading. 

Incident Commander Ryan Lane from Burford praised the neighbour for their quick actions and the occupier for having working smoke alarms. 

He said: “This has highlighted the importance of having a working smoke alarm in a property and closing all doors when leaving a room unattended.

"It is extremely important that people don’t place combustible items on their hobs, as it is all too easy to accidentally leave the hob on, or think that it has cooled down when it hasn’t”.