Firefighters tackled a blaze in which two houses were damaged by flames and smoke after garden sheds caught fire.

It happened in Regents Close, Colchester, at around 2pm today (Saturday February 1).

Essex Fire and Rescue Service said that on arrival crews were confronted by two sheds completely alight and the fire had spread to the resident's house and the property next door.

A spokesman said the fire was extinguished by 3.20pm but the resident's house had been badly damaged and was uninhabitable, while the house next door had suffered some smoke and fire damage.

The cause of the fire is being treated as accidental.