A woman had a lucky escape when her neighbour heard a smoke alarm going off after a blaze caused by a discarded cigarette.

Firefighters from Harold Hill and Hornchurch fire stations were called to the fire, which started in a bin in the kitchen in Avon Road, Cranham at around 4.20pm today (Wednesday January 18).

The woman was sleeping at the time, when the neighbour managed to put out the blaze and called the emergency services.

The fire is believed to have been caused by a cigarette being thrown in the bin.

The blaze caused smoke damage to a cupboard in the kitchen.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: “We would like to remind people to discard their cigarettes properly.

“We cannot stress the importance of smoke alarms, as it helped to alert the neighbour to the fire.”