A house fire in Westliff yesterday was cause by an unattended pan left on the hob. 

Firefighters were called to Hillborough Road at 2.58pm after a neighbour noticed smoke coming from the property. 

Nobody was in the property when the pan ignited. 

Two crews from Southend attended the scene, and reported on arrival that much of the property was already smoke-logged. 

Firefighters extinguished the fire by 3.23pm, before using specialist positive pressure ventilation fans to clear the home of smoke. 

Despite the kitchen being damaged by smoke, Essex Fire & Rescue have warned that the incident could have been much more serious without the neighbour's intervention, with more than half of accidental fires at home caused by cooking. 

In the wake of the incident, they reiterated the following advice: 

- Never leave a pan unattended. It can easily overheat and ignite or set fire to nearby objects. If you do need to leave the room, turn the heat down or take the pan off the hob completely.

- Avoid leaving children in the kitchen alone when cooking on the hob.  Keep matches and saucepan handles out of their reach to keep them safe.

- Make sure saucepan handles don’t stick out – so they don’t get knocked off the stove.

- Take care if you’re wearing loose clothing – this can easily catch fire.

- Keep tea towels and cloths away from the cooker and hob.

- Double check the cooker is off when you’ve finished cooking.