A Budleigh Salterton woman was last week forced to pull her car into Exmouth fire station after noticing smoke coming from the dashboard.

The fire crew isolated an overheated electrical wire on the blue Seat Ibiza, making it safe for the woman to reach a garage.

Watch manager Nigel Snowshall praised the woman’s quick-thinking and urged the public to dial 999 when faced with an emergency.

He said the whole-time station was manned 24-hours a day, but the crews could be called out at anytime.

Mr Snowshall said phoning ahead ensured the fire crews could attend with the correct equipment.

He said: “There are no guarantees anybody is going to be there. There is always someone on duty, but they maybe at another incident.

“The woman was on her way home when she smelled burning. She could see wispy smoke coming from her dashboard. “