A SERIOUS fire ripped through a house in Abingdon last night, thought to be caused by burning incense. 

Fire fighters from were called to the blaze at the empty house in Farm Road by a concerned neighbour, at about 10.50pm. 

The man who lived there arrived home soon after, to a ruined first floor.

His next-door neighbour, who didn't want to be named, said: "My husband called the fire brigade. We heard beeping and left it a while - we though maybe it was one of the children's toys. Then we realised it might be a smoke alarm. 

"My husband had his ear up against the wall and we could hear crackling. It's hard to explain, it was almost like the wall cavity was falling in while it was burning. We saw smoke and he called the fire brigade. 

"It was awful, I'm glad we called. It could have been much worse if it was in the middle of the night. We knew something wasn't right, that's why he couldn't get to sleep."

She had to wake up their three young children - two sons aged 9 and 5 and her daughter aged 7 - and hurry them out onto the road. 

She said: "It was absolutely horrendous. I woke up my neighbour across the road and went over there with the children. There were about three fire engines here which came really quickly, they were amazing."

The family, whose house adjoins the man's property, went back into the house at about 12.30am after firemen checked their loft and confirmed it was safe. 

She said: "We've still got the windows open upstairs. I've just changed the children's bedsheets because they smell of smoke."

The windows and front door of the house were boarded up with wood when the Oxford Mail visited this morning. 

The man who lived there - who neighbours said kept himself to himself - was not home. 

A spokesman from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "This could have been a lot worse.

"Had the property not had working smoke alarms the fire would have gone undetected for a significant amount of time resulting in even greater damage.

"Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service had previously fitted the smoke alarm in this house and would urge all residents to check that they have a working smoke alarm on each level of their home and to never leave incense burners and the like unattended.”