A fire broke out at an Oxford cafe last night when a saucepan of cake glaze was accidentally left on the cooker.

Mohammed Omer, owner of Karak Cafe on Cowley Road, believed he had switched off the kitchen appliance before his smoke alarm was set off by the burning mixture.

Three fire crews responded to the incident at around 10pm. They evacuated the flat above and closed the road while they extinguished the saucepan.

READ MORE: A4074: What we know about fatal cyclist crash near Wallingford

Mr Omer said: “I just left it by mistake and it set off the smoke alarm.

“It was left by mistake because I thought I had switched it off. It can happen even inside the house.”

He said there was no damage to the cafe and claimed the incident was relatively minor.

READ MORE: Wallingford CCTV upgrade 'will tackle anti-social behaviour'

“There was just smoke that made the smoke alarm go off and there was no fire. They (the fire service) take precaution because they must do. I didn’t call them.

“I knew that it something very small was wrong but I can’t tell the fire brigade not to come. I was shocked about the whole thing."

Two fire crews from Rewley Road Fire Station and one from Slade Fire station arrived at the scene to find smoke from the ground floor cafe.

Firefighters used specialist hydraulic equipment to gain entry to the security shutters and entered the building wearing breathing apparatus.

A high pressure hose reel was used to extinguish the saucepan, which was on fire.