Firefighters rescued two people from a fire in South Norwood last night that it is believed started when clothes left on an electric heater set alight.

Firefighters from Woodside fire station helped the people from the bedroom of the house off Portland Road when the blaze started shortly after 12pm.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but a firefighter who tackled the blaze said he suspected it was caused by clothes being left on a heater in the bathroom.

He said the fire had got out of control before anyone in the house knew about it because there were no smoke alarms fitted in the property.

The fire, which took just 10 minutes to put out, was contained in the bathroom but there was bad smoke damage to the rest of the building.

The firefighter from Woodside fire station's Red Watch said: "It could have been far worse becasue there was no fire alarm fitted. The people inside were lucky."