Gas fire named as cause of house blaze

Firefighters have confirmed that an unattended gas fire was the reason behind a house fire in Uttoxeter on Sunday.

Crews from Uttoxeter and Abbots Bromley attended the blaze, at a property on Balance Hill, shortly after 3pm.

Today, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service have said that the occupant of the house had left her gas fire on whilst she briefly left her property, returning to find her living room ablaze.

Station Manager, Paul Richins, today said: "The woman was only gone for around 20 minutes but was met with quite a serious fire on her arrival home. It was lucky she had not been gone longer."

"The fire started after paper products left near to the fire caught fire, which then spread to nearby curtains and then to a table," he explained.

"Firefighters used two hose reel jets to tackle the fire and left the incident at 4.30pm. We would urge people to make sure that they use their fires appropriately and never leave them unattended if you're leaving the property or going to bed."