Firefighters were called to Bishopsteignton on Tuesday night (April 1) after receiving several reports of a fire.

Early reports suggested that a blaze in the garden of a house on Smith Street had spread to the house.

‘Initially two crews from Teignmouth and Torquay fire stations were dispatched,’ said a spokesperson from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue. ‘But on arrival it was found that the fire had already spread to a second property through the roof space and an additional four appliances, and an aerial ladder platform were dispatched.’

An eye witness said it took fire crews ‘a painful 20 minutes’ to get the aerial ladder through the narrow streets lined with parked cars to reach the incident.

The fire prompted the closure of roads at the crossroads of Clanage Street, Smith Hill and Berry Hill.

Fire crews used breathing apparatus, four hose reel jets, a main jet, thermal imaging cameras, and fog spikes to extinguish the fire and prevent any further spread.

The fire was put out by 10pm but crews remained on scene to ‘dampen down’, check for any hot spots and to make the scene safe.

A fire investigation will take place later to determine the cause of the fire.

No-one was injured as a result of the blaze.