Fifteen guests were evacuated in the middle of the night after smoke from a ground floor fire engulfed their Lakes hotel.

The alarm was raised at 3.30am Tuesday morning at the Merewood Hotel, Windermere.

Two fire-fighting crews from the town rushed to the scene to tackle the blaze- that is believed to have started in a ground floor lounge sofa.

Guests were outside until the all-clear was given for their return at 5am.