A discarded cigarette is believed to have sparked a blaze which choked a bungalow in Telford with smoke and left two women needing hospital treatment.

The women, who have not been named, were taken by ambulance to the Princess Royal Hospital after the fire which broke out in Halldene, Hadley, last night.

Wellington fire station watch manager Simon Roberts said the women had escaped serious injury because the property was fitted with a smoke alarm.

He said firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went into the property to tackle the blaze which broke out on a settee in the lounge at about 9.15pm.

Mr Roberts said: “The women were taken to hospital for precautionary checks as they had breathed in a bit of smoke. We think smoking materials started the fire.”

Mr Roberts said the women had been alerted early by a smoke detector.

He added: “The incident highlights the importance of having a working smoke detector. It alerted the women to the fire which not only saved them from serious injury but also enabled them to raise the alarm early so we could tackle the fire before it spread.”

West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman Claire Thomas said two ambulances were sent to the scene.

Meanwhile, in a separate blaze at 4.50pm yesterday, fire crews rescued a guinea pig from the kitchen of a home in Telford. The fire involved a washing machine and a tumble drier in the ground-floor kitchen in Westbourne, Woodside.

A Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “Nobody was hurt and crews retrieved a guinea pig from the property.”