A mouse is thought to have started a fire in a house near Selby after chewing through an electric cable.
Firefighters were called to the detached bungalow in Hawthorn Drive, Barlby, after the owner heard a loud bang in the kitchen. Pensioner Joyce King dialled 999, and then closed all the doors behind her as she quickly made her way outside. Selby fire station leading firefighter Rob Horton said the bang had come from Mrs King's washing machine where a rodent - probably a mouse - had been trying to make a nest.
He said: "It looks as if the mouse has chewed through a cable. This resulted in a short circuit, which ignited a small fire inside the washer.
"The occupier vacated the premises and phoned the fire brigade, which was the right thing to do."
The fire was out by the time the fire crews arrived.
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