A smoke alarm alerted a man to a fire in his kitchen at his Essex flat.

Firefighters from Colchester and Coggeshall attended The Rookeries, Marks Tey, yesterday, May 1, at 5.12pm.

A passer-by called 999 after he could see smoke coming from a first-floor flat.

The occupant was out when crews arrived, but he had breathed in smoke so firefighters gave him oxygen and left him in the care of the ambulance service.

Crews extinguished the fire by 6.05pm and used a fan to clear the smoke.

Watch manager Darren Holliday said: "The occupant had accidentally turned to hob on and it has set fire to items left on the top of it.

"The man was in his lounge but fortunately he was alerted by a smoke alarm and was able to get out quickly - this incident really highlights the importance of having working smoke alarms on every floor of your home.

"Crews gave him oxygen, cleared the smoke and made sure the fire was fully extinguished."

The cause has been recorded as accidental.