FIREFIGHTERS were called to a flat in St Neots on Friday (January 13) to reports of a kitchen fire that was started by an overcooked Christmas pudding.

A crew from St Neots was sent to a flat in Old Market Court, in Tebbutts Road, at 9.30pm after a woman left the festive dessert in a microwave too long causing smoke and fumes to fill her flat.

They administered an oxygen mask to the woman, who had suffered an asthma attack after she inhaled smoke from the microwave.

A Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “When using a microwave, always read the manufacturer’s instructions to determine how long to cook food for.

“New research carried out by Cambridgeshire Fire showed that 50 per cent of fires started in the kitchen making it the most dangerous room in the house.”

Earlier on in the evening, a crew from Kimbolton was sent to a chimney fire in Yeomans Close, Catworth at 6.25pm. They extinguished the fire using specialist chimney equipment and returned to their base at 7pm.