Firefighters said a man had a “lucky escape” when he was rescued from a house blaze.

Ten firefighters rescued the man from a flat fire above a row of shops in Leytonstone Road, on the border of Stratford and Leytonstone, at 4am on Tuesday (May 5).

The brigade was called after a motorist driving by spotted smoke coming out of a first floor window and raised the alarm.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the maisonette through a first floor window and searched the flat.

They found a man in a bedroom that was on fire and led him to safety outside.

Attending firefighter Neil Skipper urged people to regularly check their alarms to get extra time to escape.

He said: “This man had a lucky escape as his home did not have a working smoke alarm. Having a working smoke alarm is essential.

"Every home should have at least one, and it should be tested regularly.

"Smoke alarms provide a vital early warning and buy you extra time to escape if there is a fire."

"Luckily this fire was spotted by a passer-by, but the outcome could have much more serious.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.