FIREFIGHTERS helped save children’s presents after a blaze at their home forced them to flee on Christmas Day.

The family’s Christmas turned into a nightmare after after a fire spread from a garage to their house in Farm End, Grove.

They left the property after their fire alarm sounded.

Fire crews from Wantage, Abingdon, Didcot and Eynsham attended the incident at around 6pm.

Crews stayed in attendance throughout the evening before retrieving all of the children’s Christmas presents from the house in an attempt to minimise the impact on the family’s festive celebrations.

Yesterday, the house had been cordoned off and the family spent Boxing Day with a friend. The outside of the house had been scorched, and an upstairs window had been boarded up with wood.

It is believed the fire was started by an electrical appliance in the garage.

The blaze then spread to the roof of the house and a neighbouring house as well.

No injuries were reported.

Incident Commander Mike Adcock said: “This is proof that working smoke alarms really do save lives.

“Without these alarms this fire could have had tragic consequences and the damage to property would have been far greater.

“I would like to take this opportunity to remind all of Oxfordshire’s residents to ensure they have working smoke alarms for 2013.”