Man suffers burns in house fire

A man has been rescued from a fire at his house in east Belfast by his neighbour.

The man, believed to be in his 60s, suffered burns to his hands in the blaze which destroyed a bedroom of the property on Avoneil Road.

Graham Lowry, Assistant Group Commander with the Fire and Rescue Service, said the house did not have a smoke alarm.

"It could have been much worse, the gentleman did have a lucky escape," he said.

"One of the neighbours had been passing the gentleman's house and noticed the flames and was able to force his way into the property and rescue the man."