Pensioner trapped by arsonists

Arsonists set fire to a disabled pensioner's mobility scooter, leaving him trapped inside his burning home.

The 74-year-old man, named locally as Peter Smith, had a miraculous escape.

Firefighters came across the blaze while tackling another arson just doors away from his home in Walton Road, Wednesbury last night.

They managed to help the pensioner out of his smoke-filled home and gave him oxygen until paramedics arrived.

The attack happened last night while crews from Wednesbury and West Bromwich were called to a small fire in an outbuilding at another home in Walton Road, a row of bungalows for the elderly.

Watch commander John Wildman of Wednesbury said: "By the time we reached the first fire, the owner of the house had almost put it out.

"It was when we were talking to her that we saw a lot of smoke and heat coming from another home, just doors away."

At the back of the house the firefighters discovered the mobility scooter had been set alight and the blaze had spread to the windows and door. Watch commander Wildman added: "When we got in at the front, the man was in the hallway, struggling to move. The heat had broken the back window and there was a lot of smoke pouring in."

Both fires, believed to have been started deliberately, are being linked.

Mr Smith was treated at the scene and taken to Sandwell Hospital to be checked over.