LYING on an operating table, waiting for the surgeon to make sure you'll never have children again is not the best time for someone to shout "Fire!"

Pity then the poor cat booked in to be neutered at Crofts veterinary surgery, when it was the centre of dramatic scenes in Petworth Road, Haslemere, on Friday.

Some 22 firefighters, four fire engines - two from Haslemere - a damage control unit and an aerial ladder platform were all called out when smoke started billowing out of the vet's windows at 2 pm. Animals were evacuated as firemen fought the blaze in a small bedroom at the back of the house for an hour.

Crofts is run by husband and wife team Michael and Ann Sealey. The lower floor is used for business, the upstairs as the family home.

"I was operating at the time, so we had to finish quickly and leave," Mrs Sealey told The Herald. "It was all very dramatic."

"We had two large dogs in, one with a broken leg and the other with head injuries," Mrs Sealey explained. "The firemen helped lift them to safety, but they were all fine."

The head nurse, receptionist, two assistant nurses and clients were evacuated to the car park.

"The whole top bedroom was totally and utterly gutted, a burnt-out shell," Mrs Sealey said. "Everything in it had to be jettisoned out of the window into the car park to stop it reigniting."

The fire itself was not as bad as first thought and did not spread to other parts of the building.

Firefighters directed vehicles through Petworth Road until the police arrived and closed it to through traffic for around one-an-half hours.

While firefighters worked, staff from nearby Poacher's Pocket brought them cups of tea.

The room directly below the burnt-out bedroom is currently uninhabitable because of water damage.

By the evening surgery time, the vets were back in business.

"I wouldn't want people to think we had shut down," she said. "We evacuated the animals but it had no effect on business itself."