A WOMAN was rescued by a quick-thinking neighbour after a fire broke out in her kitchen yesterday.

Firefighters were called at around 10.20pm to reports of a fire at a house on North Drive, Harwell with people still inside the property. 

Fire crews from Didcot, Abingdon and Wantage fire stations were sent to the house.

Firefighters from Didcot arrived within minutes and on arrival found that the householder had been rescued by a neighbour, who had heard the house's smoke alarm, and an officer from Thames Valley Police.

They were then given oxygen therapy by firefighters before being treated by paramedics.

Firefighters using breathing apparatus, a high pressure hose-reel and a thermal imaging camera quickly entered the property and extinguished the fire in the ground floor kitchen.

The fire started in the kitchen where cooking materials had been left unattended and smoke quickly spread throughout the house.

Incident Commander Crew Manager Lee Newport from Didcot Fire Station said: “The working smoke alarms fitted in the property most certainly saved the female occupants life by raising the alarm with the neighbours and their quick actions in calling 999, allowed us to get there promptly and deal with the incident."