FIRE crews have warned that people should turn their tumble dryers off when leaving the house after a Benfleet family were made homeless after their machine caught fire.

Two crews were called out to Manor Road in Benfleet at 11.10am following reports that a tumble dryer had caught alight when the family were out.

The crews from Rayleigh Weir that were scrambled to the incident said that around 70 per cent of the kitchen was damaged by fire, while the rest of the house was smoke logged.

They said the family are looking for alternative accommodation while their insurers assess the damage.

Rayleigh Weir station officer Peter Conyard said: “If you leave your appliances on when you go out you run the risk of them overheating.

“So please turn off your washing machines and tumble dryers when you leave the house.”

He added the fire, which destroyed the machine, started because it overheated with clothes inside.

The family were out at the time firefighters broke into the property.

He added: “There was a significant amount of damage in the kitchen, around 60 to 70 per cent of it was damaged by fire, while the rest of the house also suffered fire damage.

“We got the fire out pretty quickly but the machine has been destroyed by it.

“The family are now looking for alternative accommodation while the insurers come in to look at the damage done.”