A family of five have escaped a house fire after a candle started a blaze in the bedroom.

Crews were called to the house in Lodge Road, Writtle, near Chelmsford in Essex, yesterday evening after the occupants heard their smoke alarm going off and smelled burning.

On arrival firefighters from Chelmsford reported that there was a fire in a ground-floor bedroom and smoke throughout the ground floor of the house.

Watch Manager Ean Summerfield, of Chelmsford Fire Station, said: "On discovering the fire, the family got out, stayed out and called 999, which meant they were all safely outside when we arrived.

"Our crews did a great job of containing and extinguishing the fire, which had been caused by an unattended candle that had caught alight to nearby items.

"Thankfully in this case, only the bedroom was fire damaged, but one candle can cause so much devastation when not used safely."

"With Chinese New Year today and Valentine's Day on Sunday, we expect lots of people will be using more candles this weekend.

"Please don't leave them unattended - it's so easy to blow them out when you leave a room.

"It's also just as important you secure them in a proper holder and keep them away from materials that may catch fire, like curtains.

"Whatever you're celebrating this weekend, we need you to be safe and sensible when it comes to fire safety."

The fire service also said if anyone doesn’t have working smoke alarms at home, they can fit them for free during a home fire safety visit.

Book a free home fire safety by calling 0300 303 0088 or emailing home.safety@essex-fire.gov.uk, or visit the website.