Firefighters have issued safety advice after an overloaded extension lead caused a garage fire this evening.

Two fire crews attended the blaze in Dorking Crescent at Clacton at around 7.30pm.

Crews reported that the fire was burning within the garage, adjacent to the home of a mother and daughter. The occupants were alerted after the sockets tripped out in the rest of their home – and they managed to get out safely.

Ben Turner, Watch Manager at Clacton Fire Station, said the extension lead had overheated.

He said: “Firefighters managed to control this fire before it became much more serious, but overloading extension leads like this where multiple appliances are using the same plug socket is very dangerous.

“Please don’t take the risk - use one adaptor per socket and never plug one adaptor into another. Plugging too many electrical appliances into one place will often lead to overheating and then fire - so please keep your family safe and follow our advice.”

The fire was extinguished by 8.07pm. Fortunately, the damage was restricted to the garage and the house itself was not affected.

Essex Fire and Rescue Service issued safety advice:

? Hot plugs or sockets, scorch marks, fuses that often blow, or flickering light are all signs of loose wiring or other electrical problems.

? Badly wired plugs - any coloured wires sticking out could come loose and debris could also get into the plug

? Overloaded sockets - plugging too many electrical appliances into one socket can lead to overheating.

? Use sockets safely. It’s better to use a bar adaptor (multi board) on a lead than a block adaptor

? Only use one adaptor per socket. Don’t plug one adaptor into another and try to keep to one plug per socket

? Don’t overload extension leads and adaptors, they have a limit on how many amps they can take.