Devon fire treated as suspicious

The fire started on the fourth floor

A blaze which ripped through a block of flats in a Devon seaside town is being treated as suspicious.

Some residents escaped over the rooftops after the fire broke out at the four-floor building in Hillsborough Terrace, Ilfracombe.

The fire started in the fourth floor and spread. About 13 people living in seven flats there were accounted for.

Houses in the immediate area were evacuated, and some people sheltered in a nearby church hall overnight.

The alarm was raised by resident Moses Belford, who ran through the property banging on doors and helping people to safety.

"The flames spread everywhere," he said.

An investigation into the fire is under way, but Devon and Cornwall Police said it is now being treated as suspicious.