Woman escapes house fire after dogs wake her up

A woman who was sleeping during a house fire managed to escape after her dogs woke her up, firefighters said.

The whole roof and first floor of the two-storey property was alight when crews arrived at about 05:10 BST on Monday, Devon and Somerset Fire Service said.

A fire service spokesperson said crews from six stations were called out to the home in Kilworthy Hill, Tavistock, and the blaze was put out by 06:50.

An electrical fault is believed to be the cause of the blaze, according to a Facebook post from Tavistock Fire Station.

The post said all people inside the building had been accounted for.

"Fortunately the owner had been woken by her dogs and managed to all get out safely," firefighters said.

Firefighters said crews had to tackle the flames from outside the home as the roof, which had solar panels on it, was collapsing during the incident.

Engineers from the National Grid were called to isolate the electricity supply at the property.

Devon and Cornwall Police said it had assisted firefighting efforts by setting up a road closure at the scene from 07:30 to 10:00.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].