Firefighters are highlighting the importance of working smoke alarms after a family of three was rescued during a house fire in Leigh this morning. 

The family and neighbours were woken up by smoke alarms going off in the early hours of this morning. 

Firefighters were called to Marine Parade, Leigh at 2:33am to reports of a house fire and three people trapped inside the home.

On arrival, crews reported that the ground floor of a house was on fire with the first floor heavily smoke logged. 

Firefighters rescued a casualty after a car ended up in a ditch in Hullbridge.

Crews from Rayleigh Weir and Hawkwell attended Lower Road today at 4.47pm.

Firefighters stabilised the vehicle and rescued the casualty, leaving them in the care of the Ambulance Service at 5.25pm.

Firefighters were called to a road traffic collision on the southbound M11 near Audley End, between junction 9 and junction 8, today at 5.52pm.

Crews from Newport, Stansted and Saffron Walden found a collision involving three cars and five casualties trapped inside one of the vehicles. Two of the casualties had chest pains and one had a cut face. 

Firefighters released the casualties and left them in the care of the Ambulance Service at 7.03pm.