Members of the public helped save a woman and her young child after they saw a loft fire from outside the property.

Neighbours phoned 999 this morning (December 13) after they spotted the blaze in Englands Lane, Loughton, at 9.19am.

Essex Fire and Rescue Service is urging people to install smoke alarms in every floor in their homes, after the fire went unnoticed by the woman inside and her child suffered smoke inhalation.

The woman only realised the fire was happening when she was alerted by a passer-by.

Fire service assistant divisional officer Dave Barnard said: “When crews arrived at the house, they could see the loft space was on fire and the fire had started to break through the roof.

“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the building and managed to extinguish the fire very quickly.

“It's thanks to the crew’s quick and effective firefighting that the fire didn't spread to the property next door or the rest of the house.”

He said only 25 per cent of the roof space was damaged by the fire.

He added: “The young child suffered slight smoke inhalation and so was taken to hospital by the ambulance service as a precaution.

“The fire investigation is currently ongoing, but at this stage we believe the fire started accidentally… the property did not have a working smoke alarm on their first floor, which would have alerted the woman to the fire earlier giving them time to get out, stay out and call the fire service out.”

The fire service does home safety checks and fits smoke alarms free of charge.

To book the service, phone 0300 303 0088 or visit http://www.essex-fire.gov.uk/Home_Fire_Safety/Home_Safety_Visit_Form/.