A woman has been left homeless after a fire at her house.

The 33-year-old was taken to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, suffering the effects of smoke inhalation, after the blaze started in an upstairs airing cupboard at the semi-detached property in Byron Close, Braintree.

She was asleep when it broke out at about 10.30am yesterday and woke up coughing.

Station officer Steve Wintrip said Braintree firefighters had brought the blaze under control within 20 minutes and put it out in 40 minutes.