RESIDENTS were forced to find alternative accommodation on Thursday evening after an electrical fault caused extensive damage to their home.

Firefighters from Caversham and Dee Road were called to Epping Close, just off Russell Street, at 6.30pm and battled for more than two hours.

The extractor fan in the upstairs bathroom started to emit heavy amounts of smoke, causing the occupants to exit before the emergency services had arrived.

Nobody suffered any injuries, but the smoke damage made it unsafe for the residents to return to the house when fire crews left the scene at around 9pm.

Watch manager James Dowd, from Caversham Road station, said: "There were two young adults and the parents got there shortly after we arrived.

"Everyone was out before we got there, but they could not get back into the house.

"We suspect it was caused by an electrical fault, but there is not much left of the extractor fan now.

"The fire caused a lot of damage and they were left without power and water because we had to switch those off.

"The heavy smoke damage would have made it unsafe for them to sleep in the house, so they would have had to find somewhere else to sleep.

"The damage to the bathroom was quite significant. We had to go into the loft and make sure everything was safe before we left."