Hamster sparks fire drama

Fire officers say a family had a lucky escape after a pet hamster chewed through electrical cabling and started a fire.

Devon Fire Service was called to a property at Pennsylvania in Exeter at 2345 BST on Tuesday.

The hamster had chewed through cabling behind the kitchen cooker.

But the family had not gone to bed and were able to alert the fire brigade before anything serious happened.

Smoke detectors

The hamster was electrocuted and died instantly.

Exeter Station Officer Brian Harvey said: "We had reports that a hamster had run loose in the house and gnawed through electrical cabling, reaching the wires underneath.

"Fortunately the family was still up and was able to call us out straight away.

"But if they had gone to bed and not had smoke detectors in the house, the consequences could have been far more serious."