A kitchen fire led to a block of flats in Didcot being evacuated during the early hours of this morning.

Two fire engines from Didcot fire station were called to the fire in Torridge Drive, on the Ladygrove estate at 12.33am.

Seven residents left the flats before fire crews arrived and no-one needed medical treatment.

One crew put out the fire in the first-floor flat while a second crew searched another flat and rescued a cat.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire Fire Service said the blaze started following a fault in a fridge.

Incident commander Andy Halstead said: “ It was extremely fortunate that the residents got out in good time as the smoke alarm battery had been disconnected.

“If the smoke alarm had been in working order the occupants would have been alerted much earlier and the damage would have been far less.”