Two bungalows have been damaged after fire broke out in a quiet Swaffham street.

The blaze in Mill Farm Nurseries, which is behind Hamond's High School, started at 1.45pm on Friday in one of the homes and spread to the bungalow next to it, just two metres away.

An elderly couple who were inside the bungalow which caught fire first managed to escape and were not injured. There was no-one in the damaged property next door.

Crews from the Swaffham, Great Massingham, Dereham and Thetford, as well as an East of England Ambulance Service rapid response vehicle, were called.

The blaze caused severe damage to the roof of the first bungalow and partly damaged to roof of the neighbouring home.

The area around the two properties was cordoned off while firefighters were at the scene for nearly two hours.

A receptionist from Hamond's High said: 'There was a great big plume of smoke but it has calmed down a bit now.'

Peter Abbs, Dereham fire station manager, said: 'I saw a lot of smoke from a roof fire and we were initially fighting the fire with hose reel jets and a team of two firefighters went inside.

'The first bungalow was well alight and the second was just starting when we got here. We had obviously lost the first one so we concentrated on the second one.'

John Brady, who lives two doors away from the bungalow where the blaze started, said firefighters checked he was alright but he was allowed to stay in his home.

He said: 'The first I knew was a neighbour came from across the road and banged on the door and said there's a fire.

'When I looked out there was massive black smoke coming over the top.

'I did not see flames initially, but there was massive smoke pouring out, but as soon as they broke the tiles you could see the roof was alight.

'I was amazed to say the least. You don't even think about it or expect it.'