AN INCENSE stick left unattended in a flower pot filled with peat led to firefighters smashing down a door.

Wokingham Road and Whitley Wood fire station were called to Newcastle Road at 3.07pm but say the stick had likely been burning for most of the day.

Crew manager Gary Foster said the crew used a battering ram to smash open the front door.

"The room had filled with smoke," he said. "Incense sticks had been left in a flower pot and the peat had caught alight and scorched the wooden floor.

"It had clearly been burning most of the day but a neighbour heard the smoke alarm and called us."

He said the crews used a fan to clear the smoke filled home before calling the landlord to secure the property.