A WASHING machine fire was handled promptly by firefighters after smoke was seen coming from the appliance.

Appliances from Wokingham and Wokingham Road were sent to Colemansmoor Road, Woodley, at around 10.30am on Monday.

One female resident alerted the fire brigade and two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire using a hose reel.

Crew manager Rob Shaw from Wokingham Road said: "The lady was in the house at the time and we were luckily just around the corner doing a fire safety talk.

"The best thing for people to do is use these appliances when they are at home and they are able to catch them quickly.

"If she had not been in the house, we could have been looking at a completely different incident and a fully evolved kitchen fire or house fire."