Sidmouth fire crews were called out six times over the weekend.

The first was at 8.42pm on Friday (June 16) after a fire alarm went off in a block of flats in Sidford. No fire was found and the alarm was reset.

At 9.54pm there were reports of a small blaze out in the open somewhere around Harcombe. The crew found a controlled burn being carried out in a field but thought it was close to some trees and hedges so a tank of water was used to cool a boundary around the fire. Duty of care was left with the farmer.

A large number of appliances from Mid Devon were deployed to tackle a thatch fire on Saturday night so a crew from Sidmouth was sent to cover Tiverton.

At 12.20am on Sunday (June 18) the pump mobilised to an automatic fire alarm in Bickley but no fire was found. The standby crew was stood down from Tiverton at around 4am.

Then at 5pm, both Sidmouth pumps and a crew from Ottery were mobilised to a property fire in Malden Road.

The first pump arrived to find all occupants out of the property and were directed to a dishwasher that had been on fire. The electrics had been isolated. The dishwasher was deemed unsafe and removed from the property and the other pumps were stood down.

There was also a shout to a small fire in the open at the bottom of the Byes but this was discovered to be a large picnic with multiple barbecues. All were under adult supervision so the picnickers were left to enjoy their food.