TWO fire crews were dispatched to a nursing home last night.

The incident took place at Andover Nursing Home on Weyhill Road at 7.15pm.

Smoke was seen coming from the ground floor of the four storey-building, with Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service saying there was a fire in the hydraulic lift.

There were no injuries and fire crews were scrambled "for the safety of residents".

Hamish Mathews, Estates Manager at Andover Nursing Home, told the Advertiser that there was no fire, just smoke from an "electrical fault".

He added: "For the safety of our residents, they dispatched fire crews and an ambulance.

"It could have turned into a fire but quick action from the staff ensured that it didn't.

"It is difficult when you are in a nursing home when you have to put all of these things into practice.

"When you have real firemen legging around your building it is scary."

Hamish said that their "progressive horizontal evacuation" policy was put into practice, with residents moved into parts of the building away from the fire.

"It happened in an area where there were no residents anyway," he continued.

He added that the only damage caused was that the motor of the hydraulic lift had burned out, but that they had another, so this damage was "just an inconvenience".

A spokesperson for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "We got the call at 7.18pm. Two crews from Andover attended.

"There was smoke seen from the ground floor. It was a four storey building, there was a fire in the hydraulic lift in the basement.

"The fire was extinguished using two breathing apparatuses, one hose reel jet, one Carbon Dioxide extinguisher and a ventilation fan for smoke clearance.

"The incident was left with the maintenance manager of the care home. The stop message came in at 8.43pm."