A CRICKET club had a lucky escape when a fire in its clubhouse was discovered before causing serious damage.

Chairman of Abingdon Vale Cricket Club Dave Binningsley said a small fire which broke out this morning in the club's pavilion, in Hales Meadow, could have been 'catastrophic'. 

Firefighters attened the scene just after 11am, where a fire had been caused by a chair being pushed against an electric heater. 

Mr Binningsley said: "If it had gone on much longer it might have been a catastrophe. 

"We've been quite lucky in terms of damage. There was a bit of scorching on the wall above the chair. That was the bit that might have gone up in flames. It doesn't bear thinking about. 

"It was just quite fortuitous that somebody was there."

The fire was discovered when a man there to work on the grounds used his key to give a croquet club, which meets on the ground weekly, entrance to the pavilion. 

Upon entering he found that the building was filled with smoke and called the fire service. 

Two fire engines from Abingdon, and one from Rewley Road, Oxford, were on scene within minutes.

The crews, using breathing apparatus, quickly entered the property and used high pressure hose reels and a positive pressure fan to extinguish the fire and prevent further damage to the rest of the building.

The chair was believed to have been against the heater for some days.

Incident commander, crew manager Adam Cook, said: “In this instance a key holder to the pavilion was opening the building to allow a sports club to use the facility.

"On noticing the smoke he immediately called 999 for the fire and rescue service which was exactly right thing to do. 

"It was lucky that this fire was discovered in its early stages as it could have gone unnoticed for hours, resulting a serious loss of property.

“I would like to use this opportunity to advise everyone to check appliances are turned off if they are not in use and to be aware of the risks of blocking storage heaters."