A CAT has been blamed for starting a cooker fire in Wallingford.

Fire crews were called at 6pm on Wednesday to a house in High Street to tackle the blaze.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire Fire Service said the fire started when the cat "knocked a plastic bag onto the electric hob and then inadvertently pushed the touch button control, with its paw."

Incident Commander watch manager Terry Coupar said: "Pet owners need to take care to ensure that they do not leave items near electric hobs that could be knocked onto the hob by their pets."

No one was hurt and firefighters used fans to clear the smoke.