The ground floor of a village pub in Wheatley is on fire, with six fire engines at the scene.

Surrounded by thick smoke, fire fighters can be seen outside of the King's Arms pub on Church Road.

A spokesperson for Hawthorn Leisure, the company that operates the pub, said: "We’d like to thank the fire service for their swift response to the fire at the Kings Arms.

"Fortunately all staff are safe, and as the fire started before the pub had opened, no customers were affected. 

We are working with the fire service to identify the cause of the fire.”

Emergency services from Wheatley, Rewley Road, Slade and Thame arrived at the pub after an emergency call to Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service at 11:55am today.

A rescue tender and a hydraulic platform also arrived from Kidlington.

Kevin Wiblin, IT consultant, alerted the newspaper about the incident just after 12:30 today.

It is yet unclear what the cause of the fire is.