Worried staff racing to a cafe fire in Kingswear managed to flag a lift with kind-hearted firefighters who were called out to tackle it.

Smoke was seen coming from Moor at 13 by members of staff from a nearby pub at about 7.20pm on Monday, August 5.

They immediately called the fire service and raced over to see what was happening.

Four engines from Dartmouth, Brixham and Paignton were called out to tackle the blaze.

Lottie Fern, who owns the cafe, said she ran from Dartmouth to the lower ferry with staff member Connor Cranfield as the fire engine went past.

The pair caught a lift in the engine up to the cafe on Fore Street.

Connor said they watched as crews broke the door down.

The incident commander confirmed the property was “heavily smoke logged”.

Crews investigated inside using two jets and a thermal imaging camera.

The fire and rescue service confirmed the cause was due to a small fire involving an electrical appliance, believed to be accidental.

Lottie said: “I would just like to thank Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue for the speed in which everything was done - there’s definitely some free breakfast in it for them.

"With only a broken door handle as damage, I’m pretty pleased, I got to ride in the fire engine so it wasn’t the worst Monday I’ve had.”

Moor at 13 was back open for business on Tuesday.