TWO adults and a young child were helped to safety following a small fire at a pub on the A449 Kidderminster to Worcester road earlier this morning.

The blaze broke out in the entrance porch of The Reindeer pub, near Ombersley, at around 5.15am.

Watch manager Phil Berry of Kidderminster Fire Station said that a passer-by had noticed smoke.

Two engines from Kidderminster rushed to the scene, the landlord and his family were led to safety and the fire extinguished.

Watch manager Berry added that the fire did not spread further inside the pub. It was caused by a still-lit cigarette being discarded in a hanging basket.

Kidderminster's firefighters had a busy night as they provided support to their Warwickshire colleagues at a major blaze at Grade II listed Moreton Hall, in Moreton Morrell.

More than 50 firefighters battled the blaze. All students and staff at Warwickshire College's Moreton Morrell Centre were evacuated safely but the building was completely gutted.

The historic Georgian-style mansion, which was built in the early 1900s, was also used for weddings and conferences.

Watch manager Berry said one crew from Kidderminster and a high volume pumping vehicle were deployed to pump water from a lake some seven kilometres from the scene.

He added that they left the site at around midnight.