A woman has been rescued from a flat fire in Tiptree, Essex, tonight.

Crews were called to a first-floor flat in Willow Walk just before 9.30pm after a resident reported that she was trapped in the property due to a fire outside the front door.

While she waited for firefighters to arrive a control operator stayed on the phone to help her stay calm and give her advice to keep her safe.

When crews arrived they used a ladder to rescue the woman through a bedroom window and then assisted in evacuating people from the other flat in the building via the stairs.

Firefighters then extinguished the fire, which started in a storage cupboard on the communal landing, by 10pm.

The woman was left in the care of the ambulance service.

Crews from Tiptree, Colchester and Coggeshall attended.

Firefighters will carry out an investigation to find out the cause of the fire.