A VIGILANT passer-by alerted the fire service after seeing a lot of smoke coming from a chimney on a thatched roof in Williton shortly before 5pm yesterday (Wednesday).

They were concerned that it was a chimney fire that could easily spread to the thatch on the property in Long Street.

Two fire crews from Williton and one from Minehead went to assess the situation and found there was a chimney fire but that the thatched roof was not involved.

Crews set to work with special chimney gear and used buckets of water to extinguish the fire, then checked the roof and chimney for any hot spots.