A woman lying fast asleep in bed received a rude awakening when firefighters clambered through her bedroom window last night.

What she did not know was that her flat in Church Street, Helston was filled with smoke – and she had slept through the smoke alarm.

Six firefighters were sent to investigate the alarm just after 8.30pm, having been alerted by a landlady, who had in turn been contacted by one of tenants to say they could hear the alarm.

Two of the crew broken into the flat via a window and after discovering smoke in the building a second Landrover was sent from Helston fire station, carrying four crewmembers.

A fire service spokesperson said: “On entering the premise though a bedroom window the occupant of the property received a shock when the firefighters entered the room as she was fast asleep in bed – completely unaware of the alarms sounding in the property.”

Firefigthers kept the woman in her bedroom while a fire was put out in the kitchen, where food had been left in the cooker.

It was put out quickly and the crews then used a heat seeking camera to make sure the fire was confined to the cooker.