Alarms and neighbours save man

Neighbours heard two smoke alarms sounding within the flat at 10.05pm, and went to investigate. After seeing smoke through the letterbox, they called West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, whose officers promptly forced their way in and assisted the occupier from the building.

The man, believed to be in his 50s, was asleep on his sofa at the time. He declined medical treatment at the scene.

Incident Commander Niall Cooper said: "I'd like to praise the neighbours for doing exactly the right thing on this occasion.Upon hearing the smoke alarms going off, they went to have a look, saw smoke, and called the fire service.

"Because of their actions, we made it there on time, before the incident had a chance to escalate into something worse."

Two fire engines from Littlehampton attended the incident, which started on a cooker accidentally. Although out on arrival, crews removed the smoking pans from the stove, and cleared the house of smoke.