A RESIDENT'S door had to be rammed after he fell asleep while food was cooking in the oven.

Fire crews were called to a flat in Bromley Cross in the early hours of this morning, where a pizza had been left unattended.

Crews could smell burning as they arrived at the apartment in Thomas Court, Toppings Green, shortly before 1am.

The resident, a man in his early 40s, was only woken when the fire brigade arrived and broke his door down to put out the blaze.

Crew manager Kevin France said: "A neighbour heard the smoke alarm and called 999.

"We had to ram the door in. The man was fast asleep on the couch.

"The kitchen was full of smoke and it had spread to the lounge.

"If the neighbour had not been alerted and contacted us, it would have kept on burning and could have set fire to the kitchen."

The fire service warned householders not to leave food cooking in the oven unattended.

Firefighters used a positive pressure ventilation fan to clear the smoke from the property.