Three people saved from flat fire

Three people had to be rescued and 23 homes evacuated after a fire at a block of flats in Cheddar, Somerset.

The fire started shortly before midnight on Saturday in Hannah More Close. Three people were given oxygen.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the fire may have been started deliberately.

The residents whose homes were evacuated were found accommodation overnight. An investigation into the fire is continuing.

The building's electricity systems were damaged and there is still no power supply in some flats. Chris Ellis, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service

Paul Whittaker, who had to leave his flat, said he had just gone to bed when he heard screaming and shouting outside his property.

"I opened my front door and looked to the left of me and the flames were blazing and there was loads of smoke in the corridor," he said.

"I grabbed some jeans and a t-shirt and ran out."

Mr Whittaker said 14 of the affected residents sheltered at Cheddar Leisure Centre, where he is centre manager, until the Red Cross were able to find them places to stay.

Chris Ellis, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service group manager, said investigations were still at an early stage.

"It was quite a well-developed fire and the windows on the first floor had already blown out and the fire was already breaking through into the roof [when we arrived]," he said.

"The building's electricity systems were damaged and there is still no power supply in some flats."