Fire crews are urging electric bike users to be aware of the risks they pose after a fire at a flat.

Firefighters from Crawley, Horsham and Surrey were called to a blaze at a block of flats in Bellevue Farm Road in the village of Pease Pottage, near Crawley.

They found the property filled with smoke and extinguished a fire in the living room.

They also rescued a dog from the flat and ambulance crews treated one person for minor smoke inhalation.

The fire was caused by an electric bike, although the exact reason is yet to be determined.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said it is believed to have been caused by either the charger or a faulty battery.

Alistair Green, station manager for Crawley, said: “It is extremely fortunate that the property had working smoke alarms. These alerted the occupier to the fire in its early stages and gave him enough time to safely evacuate the property.

“This incident could have had severe consequences had working smoke alarms not been present.

“The occupier also closed the internal doors which prevented the fire and smoke from spreading to other rooms or neighbouring flats and causing harm.

“Across the country, we are seeing more instances of fires caused by electric bikes and scooters and sadly some of these have been fatal.

“If you own one of these products, it’s really important that you use them responsibly and put safety measures in place to reduce the risk of fire.”

The fire service said people with electric bikes or scooters should not leave batteries to charge while asleep or away from home and should always use the manufacturer-approved charger.

In the event of an electric bike fire, people should not try to fight it themselves but should instead get out, stay out and call 999.