A woman has been left homeless after her fridge freezer caught fire.

Fire crews were called to Wickfield Ash, Chelmsford, at about 1.30pm yesterday, with reports of a fire on the ground floor of a house.

On arrival firefighters reported that the ground floor was completely smoke logged and there was a fire in the utility room.

Firefighters worked quickly to surround the fire and stop it spreading to other rooms, extinguishing it by 2.10pm.

Watch Manager Ean Summerfield, Chelmsford Fire Station, said: "The homeowner was upstairs when the fire started but was unaware of what was going on as her downstairs smoke alarm was not working.

"By the time she smelled the smoke and realised there was a fire in her house it was already well developed.

"Had the smoke alarm been working it's likely the homeowner would have been alerted to the fire far sooner, meaning the house would have suffered less fire and smoke damage.

We recommend testing your smoke alarm on a weekly basis - a working smoke alarm will alert you to the first sign of fire and could ultimately save your house or your life."

The house is no longer habitable due to the fire damage in the utility room and smoke damage throughout the ground floor.