A mistake with a microwave led to firefighters being called out to rescue an elderly Beddington Gardens woman from her flat.
The 87 year old woman put a heating pad into the microwave in her Runnymede Court flat but set the timer for 20 minutes rather than two shortly before 10pm yesterday.
After several minutes the pad started to smoulder, filling the flat with smoke. But, as the woman tried to get to the microwave, she tripped and fell and was left stranded on the ground.
The smoke set off the alarm and a neighbour was able to come to the woman's aid and call firefighters.
The fire did not spread beyond the microwave so when the crew from Wallington fire station arrived they only had to douse the smouldering material in the microwave.
An ambulance was called but the elderly woman was unhurt.
Crew manager Dave Coleman said: "Fortunately, where she was on the floor, she was below the smoke level so she didn't inhale very much.
"I think she'd just got confused and set the timer wrong - it's easily done, we all make mistakes. It was lucky she has such good neighbours around her who were able to help her out."
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