Pensioner is hurt in gas fire

A pensioner burned his hands trying to extinguish a blaze at the back of his gas fire which gutted the living room of his home in Kidderminster.

The 66-year-old man noticed flames at the back of his appliance in his semi-detached Victorian home in Mason Road around 10.20pm last night.

He tried to put it out himself but burned his hands and called out the fire brigade.

Firefighters evacuated a couple living next door as smoke started to seep into their property.

They also tracked down the owner of the house of the other side who was out at the time.

Using breathing equipment, the firefighters spent an hour tackling the blaze which burned the contents of the room and buckled the window.

Paramedics treated the pensioner at the scene for slight burns to his hands but he refused to go to hospital.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the blaze.

Kidderminster fire station watch commander Phil Berry said: "We are still investigating the cause but we think that there was a problem with the gas fire.

"It was at least 20 years' old and we think there might have been a build-up of debris at the back of it.

"It was a nasty fire which gutted the living room."