Three people escape house boat fire

Three people escaped a fire on a house boat in Oxford during the early hours.

At 3.38am today, two fire crews from Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service were called to a fire involving a 20 foot fibreglass pleasure craft being used as a house boat.

The boat was well ablaze after becoming loose from its moorings beside Osney Bridge on the river Thames .

The three residents of the boat managed to escape the blaze before fire crews arrived to tackle the blaze.

Station Manager Guy Dunkley from Slade Park Fire Station said: ' At this time the cause of the fire is not known, but Thames Valley Police are in the process of conducting investigations.

'Although not vast in numbers, the residential moorings in Oxford are a small but very important part of the local community, and I would urge residential boat owners across the county to check their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.'