The Tollgate cafe on the A46 near Bath closed 'for foreseeable' after major fire

A woman and a dog were rescued from a fire at a popular cafe near Bath by a passing taxi driver.

The Tollgate Tearooms will remain closed for the "foreseeable future" after being damaged by the blaze.

Fire crews were called to the cafe, which is on the A46 at Dyrham, in the early hours of Sunday 27 March.

The alarm was raised by a passing taxi driver who saw flames coming from the cafe. They then helped to get the woman to safety.

The fire service said although the fire was "well developed" inside the property when they arrived, they were able to save the building.

They were also able to rescue the owner's dog, Ricky.

The cafe's owners said: "The Tollgate will be closed for the foreseeable future due to a fire in the early hours of Sunday morning.

"Thank you to the passing taxi driver that raised the alarm and helped evacuate Lukas’s mother, we will be in touch.

"We would like to thank the fire service who did an amazing job in saving our lovely building, not to mention Ricky the dog too.

"Sorry for any inconvenience caused to our guests booked in for Mother's Day.

"We will be back. Thank you so much for all of your kind words of support and offers of assistance."

Avon Fire and Rescue told ITV News it sent crews from Bath, Kingswood, Temple and Yate shortly before 3am.

They said the fire started in a kitchen area and was affecting the ground floor roof, with smoke going into the residential floors of the property. 

Six firefighters used three high-pressure hose reels, a safety jet, covering jet and turntable ladder to extinguish the fire and make the scene safe.

Crews administered a trauma pack to one casualty suffering with smoke inhalation, who was later taken to hospital by ambulance.

The fire service says the cause of the incident is "unknown ignition".