Vacuum cleaner left on charge causes Rayleigh house fire

Firefighters said no smoke alarms were working in the property

A home study at a house in Essex has been destroyed by fire after a vacuum cleaner was left on charge.

Two fire crews were called to Eastview Drive in Rayleigh at about 13:50 BST.

Firefighters said they used hose reel jets to extinguish the blaze by 14:30.

Crew manager Adam Paterson said there was no smoke alarm on the ground floor and the one upstairs was not working. "It's really lucky they realised they could smell smoke and called us straight away," he said.

"Once we extinguished the fire, it was clear that the cause of the fire was a Hoover which was left on charge.

"Please avoid leaving items unattended and on charge for a long periods of time."

Adam Paterson said people should avoid leaving items on charge for long periods