A house in Brentwood has been left with fire damage after a birthday celebration ended with a call out to the fire service. 

Crews were called to the property in Kensington Way after reports of a fire in a ground floor study of a property shortly after 4pm yesterday.

The call came after a match, which had been used to light birthday candles, was placed on a pile of papers.  

The homeowner had taken the lit cake out of the room, but unbeknown to them, the match was not completely extinguished and caught alight to the paper. 

The family heard their smoke alarm going off, but assumed it was smoke from the candles and silenced the alarm. 

It was only when they then went outside and saw flames through the window they realised there was a fire. 

Attempting to smother the flames using a blanket, the fire began to spread to the curtains, so they left the room, closed the door and isolated the electricity.

Watch Manager Ben Turner, Brentwood Fire Station, said: "We would never recommend tackling a fire yourself. It's important to remember to immediately get out, stay out and call 999.

"Closing the door was absolutely the right thing to do, it contained the fire and meant most of the damage was contained to that room.

"If you're using matches ensure they are fully extinguished before disposing of them. Run them under a tap or place them in sand to be absolutely certain.

"And of course never ignore your smoke alarm - it's always best to have a quick check around the house, even if you think you know why it's sounding."

Firefighters extinguished the fire by 4.45pm. 

The study has been left with some fire damage and the rest of the house has suffered some smoke damage.