A woman and two young children are lucky to be alive after a discarded cigarette sparked a fire in their kitchen.
Two fire crews from Southend rushed to the ground floor flat in Wesley Road, Southend, to find the kitchen heavily smoke-logged. The family, which included a child of four and a baby aged seven months were all outside by the time firefighters arrived.
Crews spent about 30 minutes at the flat which was left with a badly smoke-damaged kitchen.
It is believed a cigarette thrown in a bin caused the blaze. Station officer Barry Baz, today issued a warning to smokers.
He said: "The family were lucky because they were not overcome by smoke but this fire was most probably caused by a cigarette thrown into the kitchen bin. Anyone who smokes should make sure they discard their cigarettes properly."
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