THREE fire engines and an ambulance were rushed to a burning house after reports people were stuck in inside.

The house on Brighton Road was filled with smoke and the backroom on the ground floor, where the fire was thought to have started, was entirely destroyed.

John Irvine, watch manager at Wokingham Road fire station said the house was empty and the alarm had been raised by neighbours at 7.45pm yesterday.

"We believe it was started by carelessly discarded cigarettes," he said.

"It was going really well in the back room and the whole house was smoke logged.

"The downstairs room is totally destroyed and the whole building is smoke logged and damaged."

Firefighters from Wokingham Road, Whitley Wood and Caversham Road used four breathing apparatus and two hose reels to extinguish the blaze.

The crews were on the scene for around three hours.