A QUICK-THINKING resident saved their neighbour on Boxing Day after spotting smoke coming from the roof of their Oxfordshire home.

Firefighters from Wantage and Faringdon were called by the occupant of the house attached to the Childrey property, near Wantage, just before 3pm to tackle a blaze on the roof of the West Street house.

Due to the severity of the fire, which had spread across all three storeys, additional crews were also called from Didcot, Abingdon, Wallingford and Eynsham fire stations, along with the Aerial Ladder Platform from Oxford.

The Red Cross also sent their Incident Response Unit from Slade Park Oxford, to help the householder who had been inside. The Fire Service has not revealed any more details about them or their current condition.

The Incident Commander, Station Manager Guy Dunkley said: “This was a very challenging incident when we first arrived due to the way the building is constructed. The roof extends down to the ground floor on the rear elevation of the property, meaning that we actually had fire present on all three storeys of the house on the rear façade.”

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway, but initial findings suggest the cause was accidental.