A KITTEN was rescued from a fire which caused significant damage to a house in County Durham.

On Tuesday afternoon, fire and rescue crews from Consett and High Handenhold stations were called to the blaze in the South Moor area of Stanley.

The owner of the property was home at the time but was alerted by a smoke alarm and managed to escape safely.

However, when the emergency services arrived at the scene they discovered that a pet kitten was trapped in an upstairs bedroom.

Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish the fire and were able to rescue the animal.

A spokesperson said the incident showed the importance of having working smoke detectors fitted.