Sunlight shining on a mounted magnifying glass started a house fire in Hatfield Peverel. 

Firefighters were called to reports of a fire in a detached house in The Street at 2.23pm yesterday (September 25) after neighbours noticed smoke coming from the building.

On arrival, crews advised that much of the first floor of the property was heavily smoke logged.

Firefighters extinguished the fire by 3.04pm. The upstairs of the home has been badly damaged, while the ground floor has also suffered light smoke damage.

An investigation into the cause of the fire found that sunlight shining on a mounted magnifying glass on a desk in the landing area had led to some nearby papers to ignite.