Dogs cause hob blaze trying to reach food

The pooches were after a bag of dog food left on a kitchen hob, said the fire service

Two dogs have been rescued from a flat fire after they accidentally switched on a kitchen hob while trying to reach a bag of dog food.

Neighbours heard the smoke alarm go off in the property in Rayleigh, Essex, and called the fire service.

The flat was full of smoke by the time firefighters arrived, but they were quickly able to find and rescue the dogs, said Essex Fire & Rescue Service.

Crew manager Carl Suckling said it demonstrated that leaving anything on the hob was "incredibly dangerous".

"Please, don't take the risk and never use your hob as a storage area," he said, after the incident, which took place at about 08:35 BST on Thursday.

It was also a reminder of "the importance of having working smoke alarms, which in this case, saved those two dogs", he added.