AN elderly woman escaped a fire at her York home today after flames broke out in her kitchen.

Firefighters from York and Acomb fire stations were called to William Plows Avenue, in the Heslington Road area of the city, just before 12.30pm on Friday, with the woman having been helped out of the first-floor flat by neighbours by the time they arrived.

She was not injured but the flames caused slight damage to the kitchen, while the living room of the property was heavily damaged by smoke.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the cause of the fire was accidental due to cooking being left unattended, with the flames believed to have started in a toaster before spreading to a tea towel which had been draped over it in an attempt to extinguish them.