AN elderly couple called 999 after a fire broke out in their chimney at their house in Benfleet.

Two fire crews from Rayleigh Weir spent five hours at the house in Thundersley Park Road trying to find the blockage which caused the blaze on Saturday night.

The firefighters used heat sensor equipment to find the blockage and they had to make a hole in the chimney breast in the loft to clear it.

Sub officer Marc Diggory said: “This was a long and intricate operation and we had to work hard to find the blockage which was causing the fire.

“This could have been much worse and the couple did the right thing by calling us.

“This should serve as a warning to other people with open fires to ensure that the chimney is clear before lighting an open fire.

“The house was quite an old timber and brick property and the walls were hot to touch when we arrived, we kept the elderly couple in a room of the house so they were safe.”

Crews arrived at the house at 10.30pm and cleared the fire by 3am, they then returned in the morning to make sure it was safe.