THE fire service has praised the quick-thinking of a man that helped prevent an oven fire from spreading.

Crews were called to Redthorpe Close, Tonge Moor, at around 4.20pm today to reports of an oven fire in a house.

A man was cooking in the property when the food caught fire before spreading to the oven.

He then fled the kitchen, closing the kitchen door behind him and isolating the electricity before getting all of the occupants out of the property.

The oven was badly damaged and crews had to remove it from the property but there was no further damage to the property.

Karsten Boyle, watch manager at Bolton Central Fire Station, said: "The kitchen and the rest of the house was saved by his actions, it was confined to the oven."

Mr Boyle added that the smoke alarms in the property also sounded as they were properly installed and urged people to always make sure they have working smoke alarms fitted in their home.

Crews from Bolton North, Bolton Central and Bury all attended and were on the scene for around 30 minutes.