A DOG apparently started a fire in a chip fryer at a Blackbird Leys home last night.

A resident in Balfour Road called the fire brigade after seeing smoke pouring out a window of her nextdoor neighbour's house.

After speaking to firefighters she later said she thought the family dog had somehow turned on the cooker which set the chip fryer alight, setting off the smoke alarm.

Paul O'Keefe, who lives opposite the house, went out when he saw the fire engines opposite his home.

He told the Oxford Mail: "This neighbour reckoned the dog put the cooker on and the chip fryer caught alight.

"She saw the smoke coming out and called the fire brigade but luckily enough they caught the fire and put it out.

"I can't see how the dog can have put the cooker on."

The firefighters have now left the scene and South Central Ambulance Service said it was not called to the incident.

If true, it would not be the first time a family dog has started a fire by turning on the cooker himself.

Last year we reported how 10-month-old springer spaniel  Diesel almost set his owner Michael Oliver 's Woodstock flat on fire by jumping up on the kitchen counter to steal a treat and accidentally turning on the stove.

Oxford Mail:

Mr Oliver's daughter Bethany helped her dad clear away the smoke stains afterwards.