NEIGHBOURS have told of the "terrifying" moment a blaze broke out in a ground floor kitchen at a block of flats in Worcester.

Firefighters were called to the fire in a ground floor flat in Hanover Court, off Elkstone Close, on Tuesday evening.

Three crews from Worcester extinguished the fire and the flat's occupant escaped unharmed.

Neighbours said the woman who lives in the flat had only moved in over the last few days.

Geoff Parry, aged 65, who lives above the ground floor property, said: “It was a shock last night.

“The first thing I knew about it I could smell an electrical burning smell – like a plastic smell.

“And I’m looking around all over the place to see where the smell is coming from. Then I noticed a lot of firemen outside the window.

“I came down and said ‘do I need to get out of here?’ “At the time it was a bit scary as I have got all my belongings upstairs and the thought of losing everything made me nervous.

“But other than that I just wanted to get my dog out.”

Mr Parry said his six-year-old Staffie, called Meg, was ‘terrified’ by the situation.

“My neighbour said ‘didn’t you get your camera?’ And I said I didn't care about my camera, I just care about my dog,” he added.

“The dog was really subdued. She had a couple of barks at first and then she just wanted to get away.

“We must have had 15 firemen around the door. She was howling.”

Geoff Chance, aged 73, also of Hanover Court, said the woman who lives in the flat had only just moved in.

“I thought it was a film set to be honest. There must have been 30 people running up and down with hose pipes and breathing apparatus," he said.

“It was a bit of a shocker. We get the odd ambulance and fire here but nothing like that.”

Staff from Hanover Housing Association, which manages the property, said the occupant was in shock and did not want to comment.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service was called to the incident at 8.37pm and had left the scene by 11.30pm.

Firefighters tackled the fire with two breathing apparatus, one hose reel jet and one positive pressure ventilation fan, which is used to push fresh air into the property while the firefighters tackle the blaze.

An ambulance and a paramedic area support officer were called to the scene by the fire service at 8:38pm.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “The only occupant left building straight away and was unaffected from a medical perspective.”

A Hanover Housing Association spokesman said there had been very little damage to the house.

The spokesman believes the fire started after a resident left something on the cooker.

Hanover Housing Association is a non-profit housing provider for people aged over 55-years-old.