SLEEPING dogs were saved from certain death after a 'suspicious fire' engulfed a disabled woman's dog pen and shed, causing an estimated £20,000 of damage.

Lynda Collins was recovering from a hip operation at home in Langdale Drive in Warndon, Worcester on Thursday when a neighbour alerted her to the fire which started in an alleyway behind her house.

The 60-year-old had been sitting on her sofa in her nightie after the procedure when she noticed something was wrong. 

"I feel depressed about what has happened - as if I haven't got enough to cope with. The garden is not secure anymore because the fire has destroyed the fence. The pen is normally where the dogs sleep. The dogs are a bit nervous now. Any noise and they seem to jump," she said. 

Worcester News: SAVED: Springer Spaniel Storm and Cocker Spaniel Perdy, both six, were saved by the quick actions of neighbours following the fire in Langdale Drive in Warndon, Worcester SAVED: Springer Spaniel Storm and Cocker Spaniel Perdy, both six, were saved by the quick actions of neighbours following the fire in Langdale Drive in Warndon, Worcester (Image: Newsquest)

A 999 call was made at around 6.30pm on Thursday evening as the fire quickly spread to trees, a shed and dog pen in the back garden next to an alleyway off Borrowdale Drive.

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Worcester News: DRAMATIC: The fire in Warndon as pictured by Sandra Mackenzie

A woman driving past the house helped Mrs Collins get out of the house as she has difficulties with mobility because of the operation after she dislocated a hip and needed it put back in place on Wednesday.

"It was a struggle to do the steps with the pain but they got me out before the fire service got here," he said.

Worcester News: SCORCHED: The charred remains of the dog pen in Langdale Drive SCORCHED: The charred remains of the dog pen in Langdale Drive (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

The 20ft by 10ft shed contained fridges, freezers and fishing gear. A neighbour helped get her dogs Storm and Perdy to safety. 

"From what I have been told there's lots of rubbish down the back that hasn't been cleared. My husband was supposed to go fishing tomorrow," he said.

Today (Friday), the alleyway was still covered in the charred remains of a sofa and other rubbish dumped in the alleyway.

Worcester News: DAMAGED: The burnt remains of a sofa near the seat of the fire in an alleyway off Borrowdale Drive (at the back of Langdale Drive) DAMAGED: The burnt remains of a sofa near the seat of the fire in an alleyway off Borrowdale Drive (at the back of Langdale Drive) (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)

Mrs Collins said a neighbour was having a cigarette and saw the flames, alerting her to the danger by knocking on her door. 

A Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crew from Worcester Fire Station was called to a fire at 6.31pm. 

A fire service spokesperson said: "The fire involved two sheds, 20 metres of hedgerow and conifer trees which were well alight.

"The fire was extinguished using two hosereels and one main jet. There were no casualties but police attended due to the suspicious nature of the fire. The incident was marked as pending closure at 8.06pm."

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "We are aware and enquiries are ongoing."