Bedroom fire caused by overheated phone charger

The bedroom was left "completely alight" the Essex fire service said

A house fire that destroyed a bedroom was caused by a phone charger that had been left on and overheated, a fire service has said.

Crews were alerted to the fire by a passer-by who saw smoke coming from the Essex property.

The fire happened on Pendle Drive, Basildon, at about 13:30 GMT on Wednesday.

Essex County Fire and Rescue said no-one was in the property at the time and two dogs escaped unharmed.

Crews from Basildon, Rayleigh Weir and Wickford attended the blaze in the first-floor bedroom

The service praised the passer-by who saw smoke coming from the window of the terraced home.

Scott Fretton, station manager, said crews "did an excellent job to contain the fire to the bedroom".

"It appears a phone charger had been left switched on and, even though it wasn't plugged into anything, it overheated and started a fire."

He urged people not to leave chargers unattended and away from anything flammable like a bed or sofa.