Firefighters had to use breathing apparatus to fight a fire in a hospital ward yesterday after a fan caught light.

Fire crews from Epsom, Leatherhead, Banstead and Chertsey were called to the first floor of the Wells wing, in Epsom Hospital, on Dorking Road, Epsom, at 9am, where the ward was full of smoke.

It took firefighters more than an hour to deal with the incident.

An Epsom fireman said: "We believe an electrical fan was involved.

Fire crews had to enter the ward in breathing apparatus and with hose reel equipment to extinguish the fire.

"Once the fire was out we used a high pressure fan to blow the smoke away so people could go back in."

A spokeswoman for Epsom Hospital said no one was hurt.

She added: "It was a small incident, although a six-bedded bay was evacuated for a short time."