Fire crews were met with an unusual odour when they attended a blaze at a house in Boxhedge Road West, Banbury, on November 5, at 10.54am.

Crews were called out to a fire in a first-floor bedroom with smoke was coming out of the roof of the semi-detached property.

A female was at the house at the time and was treated for smoke inhalation by an ambulance crew.

Station manager Mark Ames said: “The rapid response of the fire crews this morning undoubtedly helped minimize the effects of fire damage on this home.

“The occupant of this property was extremely lucky to escape without serious injury, without a working smoke alarm the ending may well have been very different.”

But once the fire was out firefighters noticed an unusual smell and forced a door inside the property to discover a cannabis factory.

Police were called and removed five or six mature plants and officers also seized an amount of white powder.

Det Insp Steve Duffy said in these cases often the electricity had been tampered with.

He said: “People who do dabble or participate in this type of activity do run the risk of causing a fire in the home.”

Two 30-year-old men were arrested on suspicion of cultivation with intent to supply and bailed until December 10.