FIREFIGHTERS prevented a tragedy on Monday evening when they rescued a man from the upstairs flat of a burning property in Clanfield.

The man was one of three people that managed to flee the house fire that started in the front porch of a Saxon Close property.

Four pumps – two from Waterlooville and one apiece from Horndean and Havant – were deployed to the cul-de-sac around 10.45pm following an emergency call.

The porch was destroyed but firefighters, who initially feared the occupants were trapped inside, prevented the blaze from spreading to the upstairs and downstairs properties.

“The chap was rescued from the first floor with a ladder,” said a spokesperson for Hampshire Fire and Rescue.

“It started as a small fire in the porch of an end-of-terrace house and threatened to spread, but there was minimal damage to the rest of the building.”

The spokesperson added that an electrical fault was the most likely cause of the fire, which is not being treated as suspicious.

Members of the South Central Ambulance Service also sent a Hazardous Area Response Team to the scene but no-one was reported injured.