AN elderly woman needed help from paramedics after a chimney fire at a 17th Century farmhouse.

The blaze began just after 11am yesterday at a farm in Ashperton, near Ledbury.

A neighbour saw smoke coming from the 98-year-old's home and alerted emergency crews.

Nursing staff at the house removed her from the smoke while firefighters from Ledbury tackled the cause of the blaze, a blockage in the chimney on the first floor.

"Five or 10 minutes later and we would have had a job on our hands to stop it," said leading firefighter Paul Wood.

Ambulance paramedics helped the woman, who suffered smoke inhalation, but she did not require hospital treatment.