Man flees his burning home

A Shropshire man fled his burning home today after trying to tackle the blaze himself.

The man, who has not been named, had attempted to fight the flames after the fire broke out on the first floor of the property at New Road, Coton, near Whitchurch, just after 6am.

He escaped unharmed and was out of the building when fire crews arrived.

The building suffered smoke and fire damage after flames spread from the first floor to the ground floor.

Firefighters from Wem, Prees and Shrewsbury, wearing breathing apparatus, entered the building to bring the blaze under control.

They also used a thermal imaging camera to help locate the seat of the fire.

Phil Smith, watch manager with Wem fire station, today urged people not to attempt to fight fires themselves in such circumstances.

"The fire service is investigating the cause of the fire," he said.

"Most of the smoke and fire damage was on the first floor."

He added that a cat had died in the blaze and a possible cause of the fire was an electrical fault.