The quick-thinking of one person saved a family from a house fire in Eynsham yesterday. 

A fire broke out in an upstairs cupboard which housed the hot water cylinder in a property in Spareacre Lane just before 3pm.

The house filled with thick black smoke but the fire was discovered by one member of household and the family were led to safety before the fire service arrived. 

Fire crews put out the fire and South Central Ambulance Service treated a man at the scene for minor smoke inhalation.

The property did have smoke alarms but the batteries had been removed and crew manager Rob Davis said they were lucky the fire did not happen at night.

Fire service incident commander, crew manager Rob Davis said: "This incident emphasises the importance of having at least one working smoking alarm on each level of your home, which should be tested once a week.

"On this occasion the occupants were very lucky that the fire occurred during the daytime, had this fire occurred while they were asleep then the outcome could have been very different.

"Fortunately the occupants took the correct action on this occasion by evacuating the property."