PLASTIC plates left on top of a cooker which was accidentally turned on caused a kitchen fire yesterday evening (Wednesday, May 1).

Two crews were sent to an address in Cressing Road, Braintree, just before 6pm and when they arrived they found the cooker was alight and the room was full of smoke.

They put the fire out by 6.25pm and worked to clear the smoke.

The home suffered minimal smoke damage and the cause of the fire has been recorded as accidental.

Watch manager Lee Hurst said: "It's so important to keep cooker and hob areas clear as soon as you've finished cooking.

"Cookers can easily be switched on by accident and if there's anything stacked on top it's likely to eventually catch fire."